


Comatose Companionship

by maisymousebabey



Category: Septic egos, Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye
Genre: Alcoholism, Blood, Body Horror, Choking, Christmas Time, Fighting, Give Schneep a Break he needs one, He's still a fuckin bastard, Hospital, Jackie's gonna choke some bitches out, M/M, Magic Kisses, Memories, Scarred Characters, Self Harm, Soft Anti, Time Travel, Time is kinda broken, You could play a drinking game with how often i mention blood, Zombies, alcohol use, comatose character, drug mention, i guess, light gore, lots of blood, side character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 09:21:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17077622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maisymousebabey/pseuds/maisymousebabey
Summary: A short Fanfiction, about all the Egos, their relationships, their lives, and their struggles to get through each and every day, with their closest friend Jack, who's still trapped in his Coma.-----It's my first time writing any of the Septic egos, so I hope you all enjoy!-----Tags will be updated as each chapter comes out.





	1. Alcohol and Attraction

“Thank you guys, so much for watching this video,” An energetic voice filled the soundproofed room, practically screaming the iconic outro into the old microphone set up in front of him. “If you liked it PUNCH that like button in the face! Like a BOSS!” He grinned widely into the camera as he spoke, somehow getting louder with each word. “And,” He leaned into the mic. “High fives all round!” Whoopsh, whoopsh! He mimicked the action and the sound, like he’d done many, many times before. “But thank you guys! And I’ll see all you dudes,” With a brief pause, finger guns were quickly raised and pointed at the camera. “In the next video!!” Letting it linger for a second, he let the finger guns drop as he went to stop the camera. The man sighed to himself, his joyous expression leaving his face the second it stopped recording. He picked up a cap from his desk, quickly placing the familiar object onto his head. The cap wearing man glanced at himself, staring at his tired eyes through the reflection of the now dark monitor. “..Come on Chase, pull yourself together.. That was the last video of the day.. Now you can relax.” With a quick adjustment of his cap, Chase walked out of the small room, locking the door behind him. 

“A͝lrȩad̨y d͠one? I͟ ͜wo̡u̡ļd've ͜th̡ou͏g̨h̢t ҉you'd ̧b͞e ̨lo̢n̴g̷er.͘ ̴” The familiar voice ringed through Chase’s ears, making him cringe. Chase glanced over at the demon, who had propped himself up on the couch. The TV was switched on, though all it was showing was a visually painful screen of static. “Go fuck yourself Anti. I wouldn’t be in there all day if it weren’t for you.” Anti just rolled his eyes, smirking at Chase’s reaction. “Oh͘ w͡e͏l̴l,͢ not͏ ̢l͜ike I͘ ̢care.̵ Run a͟l̴o̴ng ̛a͝n̕d̵ g̡e͏t ͝dr̷u҉n̡k of̸f̶ ͏yo̸ur a͘rse̕, o̧r̸ wh̴a̛t̵e͝ver yo̕u d͜o ̕a̶ft̴er ͞s͜pending͡ a͜l͟l ͘day̴ p͏r̵e͠ţen̶ding͏ ͞to bȩ y͝our c̸o͟mato̴se͝ ͠b͘e͡s͜tie͜.̨” The demon shrugged, relaxing against the couch while shifting his green eyes back over to the Static covered TV screen. The sound was droning, piercing Chase’s ears and making his faint headache grow a tad more mild. “Turn that shit off.” He grumbled at Anti, beginning to make his way over to the kitchen. “N͠a͢h̷.̸ I̵t's̢ ̨so͢oth̡ing.” 

“It’s giving me a fucking headache.” Anti glanced back, glaring at Chase with his now solid black eyes. “M͟a̧y͏b̷e if y͜ou took̛ y̢our ͘fưc̨k͘įn̕g ͜me̴ds̷ ̡e͝ve̡ry ̧n̸o͡w̸ ̧an̸d̕ a̧g͘a͞in, l͟ike̡ Ze͠ goo̶d ͠Ḑoctar̡ says ҉to,̡ m̨ay͘b͡e ͝y͏oų ̴woul̢d̛n'̡t͞ de̸al w̡i̢th al̶l̶ th̡es͝e c̡o͢n̶s̕tant͢ heada͟che̢s.̸ ̧” With an eye straining glitch, Anti was suddenly back to staring at the TV with a smug expression. Chase let out a low growl, reaching into his pocket, taking out the first thing he could find and chucking it right at the back of Anti’s stupid head. “Mo͞therfuc͢ker̕-” Anti cried out, suddenly glitching to behind the couch, staring Chase dead in the eyes. Anti then glanced down, getting a good look at whatever Chase had thrown at him. " ..̛Is..̨ Is th̕at ͡a fu҉c͜k̨ing V̴ap͡e ̵p͞en..?"

“....” Chase went silent, staring down at the vape pen, resting at Anti’s feet for a few awkward seconds. “..It’s a vape pen.” Silence lingered in the room, until Anti burst out in laughter, clutching at his stomach with his scar covered arms. His laughter was like static, piercing Chase’s mind. “O̢h my ģoḑ!͞ Oh͠ m̨y ͡fuc̶king̴ ̡G͘od͏!̕” The expression on the demon’s stupid pale face was one of pure joy, he could barely contain his laughter. “Anti, cut it out-” “Fu̵ck m͘an, W̧ai̶t t͟il͜ ̸I te̛l͘l͡ Sch͝neep a͠ll̨ ̕a̷b͟ou̵t ̢th̨is͠! ̶” Chase’s blue eyes widened, as he quickly stormed over to Anti. He really, really didn’t want Henrik to know about his occasional vaping. Having the doctor on his back constantly about his drinking was already more than enough. “Anti, don’t you dare-” Anti smirked, flashing Chase a sharp toothed grin as he reached down, quickly swiping the vape. “H̴̕͏ee̷͟h͝e̸̢͠ę!̴” The creatures sinister giggle echoed through the living room as he glitched, quickly disappearing all together. 

Chase cringed, shutting his eyes quickly as his vision was temporarily overwhelmed by near blinding flashes of bright greens and reds. He blinked slowly, glancing around the open living room. Chase was now the only one there, the silence of the too big house being filled only by the irritating white noise radiating from their TV. “..Fucking hell.” Now he really, really needed a drink. Chase quickly grabbed the abandoned TV remote, turning off the screen, finally filling the room with a peaceful silence, something that was rare around here. He breathed in a sigh of relief, before, for good measure, chucking the remote at the TV screen. A quiet little shriek rung out in the living room, making Chase grin. He felt a little bit better. Just a bit. 

The remote clattered to the floor, causing the back to pop off. The two batteries rolled along the floor, much to his annoyance. “I’ll just clean it up.. Later.” With that, he turned around, finally heading to the kitchen for the drink he’d been craving all goddamn day. Anti can fuck off, Chase thought to himself as he stepped onto the tiled floor of their somewhat messy kitchen. Schneep would be busy with Jack all night so.. Chase paused, feeling a tinge of guilt hit his stomach as he reached for the cupboards handle. He said he’d stop doing this every day. The guilty feeling grew as he pulled on the handle, opening the cupboard to reveal the already half empty bottle of Jack Daniels. “..I bought this last week..” Chase mumbled as he wrapped his hand around the neck of the bottle, quickly removing it from its assigned spot in the cupboard. With a small clink as the base of the glass bottle met the counter, he set it down before closing the cupboard and beginning his search for a clean glass. 

Chase rummaged through small and messy kitchen cupboards as he thought to himself, trying to ignore the guilt spreading throughout his body. He promised Schneep he wouldn’t drink anymore. Why was he doing this? He couldn’t keep doing this, not to someone like Schneep. Especially not to him.. 

Despite his conscious practically screaming at him, Chase managed to find a glass in one of the lower cupboards. He stood back up, kicking the little door shut before making his way back over to the counter top, where his drink sat waiting. 

He pulled up a stool cringing at the scraping sound the wooden legs made against the tiles. Once it was in place, Chase sat on it, shifting around until he felt vaguely comfortable. “God dammit Chase..” He mumbled to himself, sounding exhausted. With slow movements, he took the lid off of the bottle, proceeding to poor the addictive liquid into his cup. A decent amount soon filled the slightly smudged glass. Chase set the bottle back down, screwing its cap back on firmly, in an attempt to set aside the temptation to pour just a little more into his halfway full cup. Chase slowly lifted up the glass, bringing it’s rim to his chapped lips, letting out a sigh of relief as the comforting drink finally slipped down his throat. He swallowed eagerly, somewhat desperate for the burning taste that made his body tingle and mind relax. He gulped and swallowed, not letting him or his throat relax as his mouth was filled with the warming golden liquid. Soon his glass was empty. 

Feeling significantly better, Chase set the glass down and wiped his chin on the back of his hand, cleaning himself of any remaining droplets of the addictive liquid he had just so eagerly gulped down. 

A pleasant feeling settled in his stomach, though it didn’t last for long, as thoughts of Henrik’s reaction to him drinking again filled his mind. Chase let out a low groan, holding his head in his hands, his face flushing as thoughts of the good doctor filled his mind. “Fuck..” Shaking his head, Chase slowly stood up, pushing himself and his stool away from the counter. He picked up the bottle, resisting the urge to pour himself another glass, instead putting it back away in the cupboard. The now dirty glass was tossed into the sink. Chase didn’t bother to wash it up. It was Jackie’s turn to do the dishes anyway. 

He made his way over to the stairs, quickly holding onto the wooden banister as he raised his legs. While the walk to the second floor was usually quite short, today it felt like it was taking years. “..Exhaustion, slowed reaction times and stress will do that to ya..” Chase rambled on to himself, slowly making his way up the creaking stairs, which groaned and squeaked underneath his weight. Someday these stairs were probably going to give out underneath some poor ego who was just trying to make it to his bedroom. Chase tended to pray someday’s that he’d be the one falling when these old floorboards give out. 

The soles of his sneakers finally hit the second floor, making Chase sigh out in relief. His bedroom was only a short walk away- Snoring. Whatever thoughts Chase’s mind was previously caught up in had just been rolled up into a ball and thrown away. He looked over at the room it seemed to be coming from, clenching his fist when he saw the door to Jack’s bedroom wide open. 

With the desire to run to his room and crash into his mattress discarded, Chase made his way over to the open door, peeking inside. He sighed, letting out a small smile at the sight. 

Jack was fast asleep in his hospital bed, as usual, hooked up to machine after machine, that spent every second keeping their comatose friend alive. Though, what made Chase smile was Henrik, who had passed out in the chair they keep next to Jack’s bed. Henrik was slumped over, snoring somewhat loudly, as a little bit of drool slipped down his chin. Chase found the sight absolutely adorable. 

Chase went to the other side of the room, opening the cupboard and taking out a spare blanket from the bottom shelf. Quickly returning to the doctor’s side, he draped the cozy blanket over his shoulders. Chase paused, biting down on his bottom lip. He hesitated, for just a split second, before pressing a soft kiss to the sleeping Doctor’s forehead. Pulling away, his face now flushed much deeper than before as he went to adjust Jacks blankets, tucking him back in. 

Once he was satisfied with the comfort of his friends, Chase slipped back out into the hallway. “G’night you two.. Please wake up soon..” He mumbled to himself, before carefully closing the bedroom door.


	2. Blood and Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackieboyman is here! And well.. He's somewhat upset. 
> 
> (To clairfy! JBM's real name in this fic is Jay McLoughlin!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter! And an even bigger thanks for everyone who left Kudos <3
> 
> This is my first proper fic, so I means a lot to me!

Up on an apartment rooftop, a gloved fist connects with a man’s cheek. The punch sent a sickening noise through the air as the hit was hard enough to dislocate the man’s jaw. He stumbled back, crying in pain as he clutched his jaw. “Fuck...” The man glared, staring at the masked man with a look of pure hatred. The masked man panted softly, holding his fists up in a defensive stance, ready to hit the other again if he tried anything. The criminal took a step back, prompting the hero to take one forwards. “Where do you think you’re going?” He spoke slowly, letting out a low growl as he approached the man, quickly grabbing him by his shirt collar. “G-Getting the hell away from you, you psychopath!” The hold tightened, as the hero pulled the man close, staring right into his eyes. 

“I... Am... not a psychopath.” The masked man spoke slowly, dragging out every syllable as the man in his hold tried to pull away. “You’re a fucking sadist, is what you are, Jackie!” Jackieboyman growled, quickly pushing the man back, unaware of the two of them being right next to the edge of the roof. The next thing both of them knew, the man has fallen backwards, slipping off the roof without Jackie’s hold to keep him up. He screamed, reaching up as he fell, but Jackieboyman just watched, staring at the criminal with wide eyes as he fell and fell, before hitting the ground with a sickening crunch. “...” It was hard for the self proclaimed Hero to believe that just a year ago, he would’ve done anything in his power to save the falling man. But now, he just stared with wide eyes, watching him bleed out onto the ground. It was oddly satisfying. 

Though, a woman’s shrill scream snapped him out of his fixation and thoughts, he saw a girl run up to the man’s body, shaking him to see if he was alright. That was Jackie’s cue to get the fuck out of there before someone saw him, and yet another news article about him being a murderer was published. With a quick jump, he leaped to the roof of the next building, before running to the next and jumping again. To any normal person, this would be fucking terrifying. But Jackieboyman did this every night, and had been doing so for the past 5 years of his currently miserable existence. 

After a good 10 minutes, Jackie had gone fairly far. Hopefully far enough for reporters to not be able to link that man’s death to him. He sat down on the roof of what appeared to be an apartment building, sitting cross-legged and looking up at the night sky. “...Fuck...” Jackie slumped, holding his head in his hands and staring down at the cement rooftop he was perched upon. A small droplet of blood was trickling down an open cut on his left arm, mixing in with his arm hair. While he couldn’t see himself, Jackie was sure that he was covered in ugly bruises, almost from head to toe. He’d been fighting sloppily all night, leading to him sustaining multiple injuries. A cut here and there, a probably broken finger, aching ankles and bruised body. At this point in his vigilante career, he’d gotten fairly good at being numb to his injuries, seeing as he usually wasn’t able to get them taken care of for a while. 

With his gloved hand, Jackie pulled his hood off, letting the cool night breeze rush through his locks of messy green hair, which slumped over his left eye hole in the blue mask he wore. He unclipped the straps around his chest, letting his backpack come off, once it hit the roof, Jackie reached behind him and grabbed it, pulling the black bag into his lap. Once the pocket was unzipped, the Hero began rummaging around for his phone. After bumping his hand against a variety of things, from his car keys to his emergency snack, his hand emerged, victoriously grasping his phone. Turning the cracked screen to face him, he pressed down on the home button, feeling a twinge of pain in his stomach as the lock screen lit up. The familiar image filled his sight, bringing back memories of a happier time. Jackie was dead silent as he stared at the image of him, Marvin and Jack. He was in the center, arms slung over the shoulders of his magical boyfriend and his brother. He stared at Jack, who was smiling widely at the camera. 

The light suddenly switched off, the phone automatically turning off, seeing as he hadn’t touched the screen at all. Jackie sighed, turning it back on and typing in his passcode, going to check if he’d gotten any texts while he was out. He made a mental note to change his lockscreen someday. He tapped on the texting app a couple of times, finding it difficult to use the screen when his fingertips were covered by the red fabric of his suit. Once it opened, he scanned his messages, seeing a couple from Marvin, one from Schneep asking him to come home early, which made the hero glance at the time on the top of the screen, cursing under his breath when he saw it was 2am. Under that text though, was one from Anti. The glitched out message made him grit his teeth, before hesitantly tapping on the message. It read: 

‘T̵old ͠Sc̴hne̴ep͡ ͝u҉ ̵we͘re̴ ͠al͝r͏e̡a̡dy̧ ̛ho͞m̵e͏  
҉G̵onn͡a h͟ave t̵o cr̡aw̷l͞ ̵t̸hro̧ugh a wi͟nd͝ow ͟to҉ ģet ͜ba̛c̶k i̧nside̸  
̡If ͞u ųs͞e ̕t͏he f̶ro̷n͢t ̛do̵or̴ he͟'͠s gon͝na ̕cątch͘ ͘y̕a̛ ͢’ 

Jackie read over the text a couple of times, struggling to decipher whatever the bitch had sent him through all the glitches. Once the fucked up text was deciphered, it took all of his self control to not hurl his phone off the roof. The last time he’d done that, it’d smashed into a million bits across the pavement below. Instead, he decided to read over what his boyfriend had sent him, hoping it’d get rid of the sour taste in his mouth, that’d come from just reading something Anti had sent him. 

‘Hey Jay, I overheard Anti and Schneep, so I’ve left our bedroom window open. Try not to break anything on your way in tho <3’  
‘Oh! And I figured out how to do this ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*!’  
‘It’s super cute, isn’t it? (=^･ｪ･^=))ﾉ彡☆’ 

A warm smile formed on Jackie’s lips at the use of his real name, he chuckled softly, laughing to himself as he looked at the somewhat ridiculous cat emoji Marvin had included in the series of texts. Instead of responding to any of the texts, seeing as it would take the Hero 20 million years with his gloves in the way, Jackie just chucked the phone back into his bag and zipped it back up, slinging it on and doing up the strap across his chest, so it wouldn’t fall off. With a small groan, he stood up, wincing from the weight suddenly put on his aching ankles. “Alright… You can do this Jackie. It’s just a… Maybe 20 minute run back home. You’ll be fine.” The half assed pep talk filled him with confidence, as he took a step back, with a quick run and leap, he jumped across to the next roof with ease. 

Despite his sore and damaged body aching with every movement, the vigilante kept going, running across buildings, balconies and roofs of the busy city he worked to protect, despite the cities best attempts to scorn him via their somewhat shitty news companies. Cars moved through the streets, making their way home from bars or clubs, they honked, filling the cool night with noise as Jackie made his way from a apartment balcony up to the top of the building next door. With the edge of the city getting in sight, and the buildings growing shorter, Jackie knew that he’d be approaching the woods soon. Woods meant home. 

After landing on the rooftop of a local bakery, Jackie carefully climbed down the side of the building, landing in the alleyway next to it. The hero pulled his hood back up as he slipped out the dirty alleyway, quickly making his way onto the path. At this time of night, the gentler side of the city was always quiet, practically deserted. Which made it a great exit point for the masked man. 

A few seconds of slow walking passed, before Jackie broke into a sprint out of impatience. He was a blur of red and blue, only stopping once he reached the edge of the thick forest the Ego’s manor was located in. After glancing around, making sure no one was there, Jackie slipped into the forest, practically disappearing into the darkened forest, despite the bright colors he wore. He walked slowly, his combat boots making leaves crunch and twigs snap beneath the heavy soles of his shoes. Jackie hummed to himself, slipping his hands into the pockets of his red hoodie. His mind wandered, going back to memories of when him and his brother used to run around in these woods, inevitably getting lost. A sad sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head, trying to block out the memories, before the pain they brought became unbearable. The fight against his nostalgic mind was lost quickly though, as heart wrenching memories of Jack, Jay, and Marvin playing in the woods and the big old Mansion that rested amidst them. And from there it went downhill, memories of Marvin’s first show, their graduation, family dinners, cute first dates, and awkward vlogs. Jackie sped up, starting to run through the woods, as if his memories were chasing him through the thick leaves. His desire to get back into bed and temporarily forget everything was driving him, keeping him going until he burst through the leaves, into the clearing where the old house stood proudly, and my god, Jackie had never been happier to see it. 

He walked up to the house, scanning the windows to see who was up. Lights were on in the living room, Jack’s room, Anti’s room, and all the way up on the third floor, Jackie could see that the lights were still on in his and Marvin’s shared room. The window was wide open, just as Marvin said it would be. 

A small smile formed on his lips, as the hero quickly made his way over to the side of the house. He ducked under the living room window, hoping that whoever was in there didn’t see him. Once he was directly underneath the open third floor window, Jackie began climbing, using the bricks as support. It was a somewhat tough climb, but it wasn’t the first time he’d done it. The hero made his way up, stopping to catch his breath at Anti’s bedroom window. He glanced over at the window, furrowing his brows as he looked it over. The window was in one piece, yet Anti had decided to board it up from the inside. No one really knew why. He bit down on his bottom lip, starting to climb again when suddenly a scream came from the window. At least, it sounded like a scream. It was as if someone had recorded a scream, corrupted the audio, put it on a record player and played it backwards. Jackie cringed, picking up the pace. He didn’t choose to investigate, seeing as weird sounds came from the Demon’s room nearly every night. 

His gloved hand soon grabbed onto the windowsill, and he pulled himself up into the bedroom, tumbling onto the blue carpet that decorated the shared room’s floor. A familiar laugh filled the room as Jackie sat up, grinning as he looked over at his boyfriend, who was currently sat at his vanity in front of the mirror. Marvin was in his pajamas, though he still had his iconic kitty cat mask on. “Well,” The hero began as he sat up, letting his hood fall off. “At least I didn’t break anything this time.” Marvin covered his mouth, letting out a cute giggle into his palm as he set his hair brush down on the vanity. “I suppose that’s true-” He let out a small gasp, his expression quickly turning to one of concern as he stood up, rushing over to Jackie and helping him up to his feet. The superhero grumbled to himself as the magician fussed and fretted, checking all his exposed skin for injuries. “Jay... I thought I told you to be careful tonight...” Marvin spoke, sounding somewhat upset as he took a step back. 

Jay took the opportunity to undo the strap on his chest, letting his backpack fall to the floor, followed by his hoodie, which he shrugged off. “Marv... I tried being more careful. I really did. It’s just...” “Tonight was more intense than you thought?” The magician finished his sentence for him, while crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah.” Jay nodded, sighing as he reached up, slowly peeling off his blue mask and setting it on one of their bedside tables. 

“...” Marvin sighed, smiling up at his boyfriend. He cupped his bruised cheek, gently pulling him down into a soft kiss. “Get ready for bed, okay? I’ll fix up your injuries in a minute.” 

The Hero’s cheeks flushed, as he nodded, feeling so god damn relieved that Marvin wasn’t angry at him. Marvin walked back over to his Vanity, turning off the lights in the room as Jackie stripped down to his boxers, leaving his superhero suit laying in a heap on the floor. He’ll deal with it tomorrow. Maybe. It was Chase’s turn to do the laundry anyway. With a small huff, he laid down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, undisturbed until he felt a weight on his hips, letting out a happy sigh as he looked up at Marvin, who was straddling his waist. 

Jay sat up, reaching out and cupping Marvin’s cheek. He smiled softly, drinking in the sight of his boyfriend without his mask on. It was always rare to see him without the decorated white mask upon his scarred face. “Cute...” Jay mumbled, making Marvin huff, rolling his eyes as he shifted closer. “Oh hush. You know fully well my face isn’t even remotely cute.” “Well, it is to me.” Marvin sighed softly, shifting closer and resting his forehead against Jay’s, staring into the Hero’s mismatched eyes with a loving look. 

“I love you...” Marvin mumbled softly as he leaned in, pressing their lips together in a soft kiss. The gentleness of the kiss sent a tingly feeling through Jay’s spine as he wrapped his arm around the Magician’s waist, pulling him closer. The tingly feeling spread throughout Jay’s body, as Marvin’s eyes and fingertips glowed a soft green, indicating that he was using his magic. By the time they pulled apart, Jay’s injuries had healed. The hero was feeling 100% better, thanks to the long haired magician sitting in his lap. The green glow died down as Marvin smiled. “There we go, all better. Now...” He slipped out of Jay’s lap, proceeding to get into the bed next to him. “Cuddle me and get some rest, Magician’s orders.” Jay rolled his eyes, smiling as he laid down, pulling the blankets over him and his boyfriend. 

Marvin snuggled close, wrapping his arms around Jay’s waist and nuzzled his face into his chest. Jay held him close as he glanced around the room. The moonlight shining through the window reflected against a framed picture, hung up on the bedroom wall. One of Marvin, Jay, and Jack all together. The happy image overwhelmed the Hero with guilt, prompting him to hold onto Marvin tighter before mumbling to himself. 

“...I miss him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one!! 
> 
> Next chapter is gonna be about our favourite Magician!


	3. Cats and Contemplation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin stumbles across something that brings back an almost overwhelming sense of nostalgia for the magician.

With a light thud, the heavy trunk was lowered onto the wooden floor of the slightly cramped storeroom. Marvin placed his gloved hands on the edge of the lid and pushes it back against the wall; letting it settle amongst similar trunks, boxes, and bags that filled the room nearly to the brim. The magician took a step back, sighing as he rested his hands on his hips taking a look around the organized room with a pleased smile. The late afternoon sun shone through the big window filling the room with a pleasant light and reflected against the dust particles that filled the storeroom. Marvin stretched his arms up, holding them above his head as he yawned. Through the faint reflection of himself in the window, the magician caught sight of his own fangs, making him smile. Marvin often prided himself upon his feline like features, despite the occasional teasing from Anti. He was never quite sure what part of his appearance Anti thought could qualify him as a furry, though the magician never asked and prefers to spend as much of his time away from the demon as possible. Marvin hummed, the tune accompanied by the sound of the living rooms TV playing faintly in the background and the sound of a running tap, hoping that Jay had finally decided to do the dishes. 

Finished with the boxes, the magician began unrolling his shirt sleeves, adjusting them carefully. Normally, Jackieboyman would be helping Marvin organize his storeroom, though today he was (hopefully) busy doing all the chores he’d been procrastinating on all week. So Marvin had been spending all afternoon, moving box after box of old equipment down to his new storeroom. He lifted up a hand, threading it through his long locks of green hair, which so often liked to slip down and hang in front of the eye holes of his white mask. It made it somewhat inconvenient at times, but it was nothing a handy hair tie couldn’t fix! With a quick inspection of both his wrists, Marvin pulled a hair tie off of his right, proceeding to tie his hair up in a somewhat half assed bun. 

Now with his hair out of his line of sight, Marvin slipped a hand into his waistcoat pocket, pulling out a small old key ring. “Rightio, let’s hope I got the right trunk..” He mumbled to himself, recalling the fact that the Manor’s attic was practically filled to the brim with all sorts of boxes, trunks, and other sentimental junk. The magician made his way back over to the large trunk, getting down on his knees in front of it. After a couple attempts at opening the lock with wrong keys, he eventually got the right one, slipping it into the lock and twisting before it popped open. “Huzzah! And now, Marvin the Magnificent will reclaim his old equipment that rests inside this old trunk!” His booming stage voice filled the room, hyping himself up as he slowly lifted up the lid, revealing the contents of the trunk.

Though, much to his disappointment, he wasn’t met with old tricks and equipment, which Marvin had been hoping would wash over him in a sense of comforting nostalgia. Instead, his vision was met with a trunk full of old photo albums, picture frames, and books. “Oh? I wonder what this could be..” Despite his disappointment, he reached in, carefully picking up the first picture frame he could get his hands on. Curiosity grew, quickly replacing any lingering disappoint as Marvin lifted up the frame, turning it around in his hands so he could see the photo inside of it; if there was one in there at all. 

His mind raced with ideas, thoughts of what he could have stumbled across. Though, once he was looking at the picture, he held back a gasp. Staring back at him was a photo of him, Jay and Jack all together in the manor’s yard. They couldn’t have been any older than 3. He set the picture frame down on the floor, next to his feet, being careful not to damage it as he reached back in with the other hand, picking up a decently sized photo album. 

Marvin shifted back, sitting cross legged on the creaky floor. The photo album was propped open on his lap, turned to the front page and Marvin was met with a photo of him, Jack, Jay, and Chase all together at their formal. The sight of the four of them all dressed up in their suits, standing in front of the car they rented made the magician’s breath hitch in his throat. His green eyes scanned the image, drinking in every detail. Chase was wearing his iconic cap, Jackie had his sleeves rolled up, and Jack looked kinda exhausted. Marvin looked at himself, swallowing anxiously when he saw that he wasn't wearing his mask. He didn’t have a reason to back then. Hesitantly, he lifted up the page, turning it over. On the back of the photo was a note that read: 

I couldn’t be prouder of you boys!   
Congrats on graduating, and not destroying the school while we went there!  
I made this lil album to celebrate our time together <3  
Stacey 

The name made Marvin cringe, the familiar signature stirred up mixed feelings, nostalgia, anger, guilt. It was a real mess. He sighed, trying to distract himself from the icky feelings bubbling in his stomach by looking across at the next page, only to be met with a picture of his first high school class. With him is Jay, Jack, Chase, and Stacey all standing next to each other, wide grins across everyone’s faces. Marvin remembered that day well. It was the first time he’d ever met Chase or Stacey. Shaking his head, pushing out the memory. Again, page was flipped. Visions of happier times flooded Marvin’s mind, as each picture sent waves of recollection through his body. Pictures of them at school camps, the beach, theme parks, parties of all kinds; memories of a time when everything was better. 

Marvin flipped to the last page, being faced with a picture of the five of them all together at formal. Jay had his arms around Jack and Marvin, while Chase was holding onto Stacey by her waist, all of them smiling and the sight was enough to bring tears to Marvin’s eyes. 

He quickly shut the book, picking it back up and putting it back into the trunk, before closing the lid carefully, making sure that nothing had gotten caught. Marvin turned the key, taking it out and slipping the key ring back into his pocket. “...Should I show this to Chase?” The Magician mumbled, continuing the debate internally as he pushed up his mask, giving himself a second so he could wipe his eyes of the tears that had formed. Once his tears were gone, the mask was quickly put back on and again Marvin hides his true face from the world. He reached to the side, picking up the previously discarded photo frame and hugging it close to his chest as he stood up. “I’ll have to find somewhere to put it.. Hmm..” 

Marvin spoke as he walked over to the door, quickly leaving his storeroom, stepping out to the living room, and shutting the door behind him. As he looked around, Marvin saw Anti in the living room, talking with Robbie. Over in the kitchen, Jackie was currently washing up while Chase was rushing around the kitchen, presumably making something. Noise seemed to be coming from Schneep’s office, making Marvin assume that the good doctor was in there, which meant Jameson was watching over Jack. 

“Kitty..” A slurred voice called out, prompting Marvin to glance back over at the living room couch, smiling once he saw the purple haired zombie waving at him. “Ah, Robbie! How is my favorite zombie doing today?” He approached the pair sitting on the couch, still grasping onto the photo frame tightly. The magician reached his hand out, about to pet Robbie’s hair before Anti spoke. “C͞are͏f͠ul̢. ͘Ḩe'͘s ̵feeling bi͟t͘ey to͟d̶ay҉.̡ ͏Don͞'͝t̸ g̴i͝ve y̸ou͠r̷ ̕b̸oyfri͘end̸ ̷anoth͡e͡r͡ r̢e͟a͠sǫn t͡o͡ b͘ea̛t҉ so̢m̡eo̶n̵e e̢lse u̶p.҉ “ The glitch grinned, smirking up at Marvin as he pulled his hand back. Robbie slumped down, going back to leaning on Anti. “I see..” Marvin walked around the front of the couch, standing near the coffee table. Anti was staring at him, an odd look in his eyes. “Wh͟a͘t͟'̧s̷ ͘w̨ith ͢t̢he pi͞c͟t͏ur̴e ̡fra͢me?̛” Marvin froze up, his hold on the frame tightening. “Oh.. I just.. Found it while I was searching through some of my old equipment. I figured it’d just been tossed in during spring cleaning or something.” 

Robbie tilted his head, looking up at Marvin with his blank eyes while reaching out his arms, wanting to hold the frame that the magician was clutching onto desperately. “Touch..!” Anti rolled his eyes, giggling to himself as his form glitched, leaving the couch empty for a split second, making Marvin shut his eyes to shield them from the colorful flashes. They disappeared, only to be replaced by yet another display of colorful glitches as the demon reappeared on the couch, he was holding a rather dirty cat plush by it’s matted tail. “Ro͠bb͜ie,̸ us̸e̷ t̷his̸.” Anti tossed the plush into Robbie’s lap, making the zombie smile as he slowly picked it up, raising the cat to his mouth and beginning to chew on its ear. 

From appearances, the plushie seemed.. Well loved. Seeing as it was covered in patches of mismatched fabric, sewn on to mend and repair holes Robbie had torn into it. “Thhng nhh..” Robbie mumbled around the cat ear in his mouth, as he bit down on it, muffling his speech. Anti giggled, that same ear piercing giggle that seemed to annoy everyone but Robbie as he reached his hand out, ruffling the zombie’s messy purple hair. “Yo͞u'r̕e ͟welco͠m̕e,̸ ̶ķid.” Marvin smiled to himself at the sight, it was rare for Anti to be even remotely nice to anyone, let alone affectionate, so he savored every second of it. 

“Excuze v-me if I’m interrupting,” Schneep spoke, interrupting the sweet moment as he walked into the living room. “but it’z time vor dinner. Please be zeated at the table by the time I’m back.” Anti rolled his eyes, quickly pulling his hand away from Robbie. “Ai͜gh͘t͞,̴ we͟'̷l̢l ̵b̕e ̴t͠h͘e̷r̢ę ̡b͡ef̕o͠r͞e̸ ̢y҉ou, so͞ ͟don'҉t͟ ̷g͟et y̶o̡ur͢ k̨nic̢k͠er͘s͟ in ͢a t̶w͞įs͞t swe̕eth̡eart͞.̶” Schneep scowled, glaring at Anti as the glitch spoke. “Of course.” The doctor huffed, leaving the living room and quickly making his way up the stairs. “Shall we go then?” Marvin spoke to the two, going to set the photo frame down on the coffee table, propping it up on it’s stand. Robbie nodded, while drooling a little around the plushie in his mouth. Anti was silent, staring at the photo of Jay, Jack and Marvin. “..Anti?” He glanced up at Marvin, quickly standing up. “..͘Wh̶at?̴ Cơm͞e ̨o͢n, l͝et's̴ ̨go alrȩad͠y̡ b̷efore͞ S͟c̵hne͞ep ͡comes ͘back̢ an͏d thro̵ws͘ ̨a ̵fit̡.” 

The glitch transported himself to the otherside of the couch, waiting for Robbie to slowly stand up and shuffle over next to Anti, before he held onto the Zombie’s wrist, leading him over to the dining hall. 

Marvin joined them, beginning the short walk over to the dining room. Though he caught Anti glancing back at the picture frame, with an expression that the magician couldn’t quite figure out. It looked like a mix of pity and anger, as well as a look of regret in his eyes. “...” He chose to stay silent, not wanting to assume anything, mostly out of fear of Anti. 

The trio made their way to the dining room, and Marvin pushed open the door, letting Anti and Robbie walk in. The Magician looked across at the table, seeing Chase already sat down at the head of the table, with Jackie sitting on his right. Jackie frowned, glaring at Anti when he saw the demon was holding onto Robbie. Anti just stuck his forked tongue out at Jackie once he saw his glare, before leading Robbie to their seats. The two boys sat down on the left side of the table, with Anti on the end and Robbie next to him.

Marvin walked over to Jackie, taking his usual seat next to his boyfriend, before speaking, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Y’know.. There’s no need to be so rude to him..” Jackie scoffed, leaning back against his seat as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m allowed to be as rude as I’d like too, to that bastard.” Saying that earned the Hero a light smack on the arm from the Magician, along with a pout. “Jackie, be at least.. Tolerant. For once.” Jackie hesitated, before nodding. “Fine.. Just for tonight.” The pout shifted into a small smile, as the door opened again. Schneep and Jameson walked in together. The Doctor took his usual seat, across from Jackie, while Jameson sat next to Marvin, shifting uncomfortably when he looked across at Anti. 

The demon was currently playing with a butterknife, twirling it around his fingers, making the dapper man anxiously begin to fiddle with his bowtie. Chase spoke up, his voice dripping with exhaustion. “You can start eating anytime now. You don’t need my permission.” The room was met with silence, as the group began to dig into their dinner. It seemed peaceful for a while. Well. More like some strange, fucked up cousin of peaceful. But still. 

It was nice, their weird uncomfortable version of nice, until Anti spoke up. His voice sounded mocking as he addressed the mute man sitting across from him. “H̸m?̶ W͝h҉at'͟s͟ wr͏o̕ng? An̴x̢ioưs? W͢o͡rri͡ed ҉t̶hat̡ ̢thi̷s̡ li͞l k̕n͢ife ͏wi͞ll ̶s̕li͘p an͢d͡ h̶u̡rt̢ someone?~” Jameson didn’t respond, staying silent as usual, just eating his own dinner. Marvin sighed, hoping that Anti would drop it and they could get on with the meal. “No̵t e̵v͝e̶n tal͘kat͘i͢ve҉, huh?” He teased, trying to urge a reaction out of the mute. Though when that didn’t work, the demon rolled his eyes. Before he lifted up the knife, chucking it right at Jameson. Luckily, the knife barely missed his face, instead hitting the wall behind him and clattering to the floor. 

Jameson’s eyes were wide. He was sweating and signing at a million miles an hour, so fast that no one could decipher what he was saying. Jackie quickly stood up, slamming his gloved hands on the table. “Anti?! What the fuck?! He wasn’t doing anything!” 

“Ex̸act͡l̵y͞! Tha͝t҉'s ҉t̴h̡e̡ fuc̨kinģ po͏i͜n͠t,̵ mist̴er sup͢e͞ŗhero.͠ ” Anti rolled his eyes, huffing as he threw his hands up into the air. “You could’ve hurt him!” The demon raised an eyebrow, looking Jackie up and down before speaking again. “A͢in̨'̡t̡ ͝t͞hat ̷a͜ ̸l҉itt҉le ̡h̴ypoc͝r͏i̵tical͢ o̕f ҉y͏ou̴? Yo̧u beat ͏u͟p͏ peǫp̷le fo͞r a̢ ͢livin̨g͠. ҉” The hero’s eyes widened, as he clenched his fists, holding back the urge to storm over and punch Anti in his stupid glitchy face. “Motherfucker… I help people!” Anti sighed as he pushed his chair back, lifting up his legs and resting his feet on the table, making Schneep speak up. “Anti! Ztop that at v’once! It iz incredibly unhygienic.” During all of this, Chase was sitting there silently, sipping what Marvin assumed to be alcohol, out of a small glass. Robbie was minding his own business, happily eating the raw meat which was on his plate. 

Marvin stood up, yelling as loud as he could. “Could all of you please just stop?! None of this used to happen when Jack was with us! So please just stop acting like children.” Everyone was silent for a split second, before Jackie spoke, ruining the temporary silence. “If it wasn’t because of that Bastard, Jack would still be with us!” Anti stood up, his eyes a solid black and his glitching significantly worse. “F̷̝̩u͍͚͘͠c̛̰̬̯͕k̶̵҉̹̳̜̩͖ḛ̛̼̰̞̙̺̮r̢̠̟̹͔.͏̢̖̯̤̖̲͖ ̟̥D̡͜͏̮̙͕̹̥o͏̲͔̺̫͚̩n̴̡̮̠̼͖̩̼'͍͎͓͈͖̦͜t̷͈̲̺̪͈͍̙͖̝̕ ͈̮g̨͓̖̞̭̝̬͠o̹͎ ̡͍̱̙̲̝̙͍͘͝ṣ̴̟̣p̻͚͕͞͠o̡͈͙͍̣u̹͜t̛̫̠͙i̗̺͇̖̭̜̕n͜͞͏̯͔g͜͏̠̦̬ͅ ̡̤̼̮̮̪̗̮̮a̧̦̼̲̖̭͝l̸̺̺̼͢l̸̢͎̼͞ ̩͎͟͝t̢̙̦̝̲͓̜͈̫̝͟͠h̴̪̳a̷̛̱͈͖̰̲̗̞̟͜t̪͓̩̗̖̟̣͇͟ ̶̭̜̼̪̖͕͍c̸̸̤̪̺͎̫͍͢ͅr̺̲a̵͏̬̞p̡̟͇͖͙̠̰͞!̥͈̰̺͚͝” His form was growing more and more unstable.

Marvin huffed, yelling again. “Fucking hell! I can’t believe the two of you!” He pushed his chair back, beginning to walk over to the door. “Babe, wait-” Jackie protested, reaching out for Marvin as he left. “Don’t talk to me until you sort your shit out.” With that, he opened the door and stepped out, slamming it shut behind himself. 

The dining room was silent, everyone staring at the door. Chase looked down, sighing as he took another sip of his drink, hoping he could just go to sleep soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it <3 
> 
> Next chapter is gonna be about how the Good Doctor is coping with everything, so I'll see you then.


	4. Doctors and Desperation

Henrik took in a deep breath before breathing out, watching his visible breath float away. The doctor shivered, hugging himself as he took another step forward, feeling the fresh snow crunch beneath his feet with each slow movement, the noise filling the peaceful woods which surrounded the Septic manor, shielding it and it’s residents from the nearby town. He glanced around, letting his gaze fall on the man standing next to him. 

The sight of Chase, hands tucked into his pockets and face buried into the large scarf he wore made the Doctor’s lips twitch into a small smile. Chase glanced back at his friend, raising an eyebrow. “What the hell are you looking at?” Chase questioned as Henrik looked at his face, drinking in every detail. He was grinning, but the look in his eyes was one of exhaustion, the dark bags under his eyes only added to it. “Oh nothing. I vas zimply admiring how half of your face haz zeemingly dizappeared underneath zat scarf of yours.” 

Chase snorted, presumably grinning under his scarf as he lightly elbowed the Doctor in the side, before speaking. “Says you. You’re barely wearing anything, and it’s freezing as all hell out here!” Henrik simply grinned, though that didn’t stop the near constant shivering of his body. He retorted, the words heavy with his accent. “Forgive me, but zeeing az I haven’t left zeh v’warm sanctuary of our home in zeh last veek, I didn’t realize it vould be zis damn cold.” Chase moved, so he was standing right in front of Henrik, close enough for the doctor’s cheeks to flush. “You look fucking freezing, here.” Before letting Schneep respond, Chase began to unwrap his scarf, pulling it off of his neck. He gently placed it around Henrik’s, leaning in close as he wrapped it around the Doctor’s exposed neck. The action itself made Henrik’s heart ache, and his blush worsen. It took what was left of his self control to hold himself back from pulling Chase into a kiss there and then. 

“There we go!” Chase patted Henrik’s shoulder with his gloved hand as he took a step back, making the doctor snap out of his thoughts. “O-Oh, zank you very much Chase. Vut I’d be fine vithout it, you can have it back if you’d like-” Chase waved his hand in a dismissive manner and turned around, looking up at the trees and the bits of early morning sunlight peeking in through the leaves. “It’s fine. Besides, it’s better to be certain that the only medical professional in the house doesn’t freeze.” Henrik chuckled as he looked down at the scarf Chase had affectionately wrapped around his neck, it was warm and it smelled faintly of the other man, which sent a fuzzy feeling through his cold body. 

Chase’s gloved hand was hanging by his side, making Henrik bite his lip, as he reached his own hand out, gently taking his friend’s hand in his, squeezing it lightly. The action made Chase quickly glance over at Henrik, who was staring down at the white snow beneath them, face flushed. “...” Chase was silent, looking away before squeezing back, making both of them blush a little deeper. 

The silence between them was peaceful, sweet and calming. Something the two of them rarely got to experience anymore. 

The doctor shifted closer, leaning against Chase’s shoulder. Drinking in the peaceful atmosphere, forming a memory that could be looked back on for comfort in difficult times. The silence was eventually broken by Chase, who spoke up, sounding somewhat hesitant. “So.. Henrik..” He paused, squeezing the doctor’s hand for some sense of comfort. “..We should do something on friday. Like.. Like a date.” 

The doctor was silent, eyes widening behind the square lenses of his glasses. “..A.. Date?” Chase nodded, looking down as he shifted slightly, making snow shuffle beneath the boots he wore. “Yeah. A date. With us. On friday.” Henrik’s mind was racing, nearly overwhelming the doctor with what could go wrong. “Chase I.. I vould love to but.. I can’t leave Jack vor too long. I don’t exzactly trust anyone elze to vatch over him.” The look on Chase’s face showed that he had expected this kind of answer. The look made Henrik’s chest ache with guilt. “..Henrik, please. Just for one night, we can go out together. You need a break, you deserve one. We could get Jackie or Marvin to watch over Jack while we’re gone.” 

It was tempting, oh so tempting to say yes, but guilt, anxiety and even a faint sense of nausea was filling the Doctor’s body. He’d stayed at Jack’s unconscious side for a whole year, rarely even leaving the house for small walks like this. If it was up to Henrik, he’d be spending every second of his life in the youtubers bedroom, making sure he’s fine. Ever since he’d failed to save Jack, Henrik had been stuck to his old friend’s side out of guilt and determination to see him wake up someday. Though, as Chase finally looked back up at the Doctor, staring him in the eyes. 

The look of concern and hesitation that swirled in Chase’s baby blue eyes made Henrik nod, agreeing as he squeezed down on the others gloved hand. “..Okay.. I’ll go. 2 hourz at most.” 

Chase sighed in relief, his worried look shifting into a genuine smile, a rare sight nowadays, which made Henrik blush as his friend quickly pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you..” Chase mumbled into Henrik’s ear, before proceeding to happily squeeze the Doctor who was trapped in his comforting embrace. 

Though, the soft moment was interrupted by Schneep’s almost violent shivering from the cold. “Oh Jesus Christ, let’s get you back inside.” Chase held onto Henrik’s arm, not letting the doctor protest as he lead him back through the woods.

The two made their way back inside, leaving a light trail of snow behind them as they closed the door. 

\-----------------------

An hour had passed since the pair had returned to the warmth and safety of their manor. 

Chase had gone off, to finish recording for the day, leaving Henrik alone in his cozy office with a mug of piping hot “Hot Chocolate” which sat upon his desk. 

The Doctor looked out the window next to him, gazing out at the falling snow across their front yard. His office was practically silent, aside from his slow breathing which caused his chest to slowly rise and fall. Now that he was alone, undisturbed by Chase or any of the other residents of Jack’s large home, Schneep was able to reflect on his thoughts. 

A guilt ridden anxiety was settling in his stomach, making Henrik cringe and shut his eyes tightly. He should be happy, he was going out to spend time with Chase, but the anxiety that came with leaving Jack for too long was occupying his mind, leaving him unable to think of nearly anything else. 

“Znap out of it Henrik. Ztop vorrying.” Henrik shook his head as he tried to console himself, not quite succeeding. As his eyes slipped back open, the Doctor’s gaze fell across a framed photograph that hung between his two bookshelves, gathering dust. The photo brought back painful memories, but the German could only focus on Jack. He stared at his friend’s picture, taking in his face. He looked so exhausted. If only Henrik had noticed something was wrong earlier. He could’ve helped. He could’ve saved him. He didn’t. He didn’t save Jack. 

The Doctor’s breathing grew heavier as he clutched onto the desk, trying to hold himself steady as his body began trembling, nearly swaying from side to side. A low throbbing sound filled his mind. He felt faint, breathing getting heavier and heavier with each passing second. 

Everything felt suffocating, like he was trapped. Until a sudden crash was heard from the living room, suddenly snapping Henrik out of his thoughts, which would’ve continued to spiral out of control if left uninterrupted. 

Henrik panted softly, slowing down his breathing as he carefully stood, pushing his chair back as he did. He clutched onto the desk for support, his head felt light and his legs were weak, but Henrik needed to check if everyone was alright. 

Once the dizziness passed, he slowly made his way to the office door. A shaky hand took hold of the doorknob and turned it, pushing it open as Schneep stepped out into the hallway. The doctor soon spotted the cause of the crash, seeing Marvin at the bottom of the staircase, surrounded by magical paraphernalia and an open trunk. “Marvin? Do you z’need any help?” The German spoke as he made his way over to Marvin, who had just glanced up and waved. “Well, it’d be appreciated. Sorry if I interrupted anything, it’s just.. Heavy trunks are hard to transport when your superhuman boyfriend isn’t around to help.” The magician cracked a grin as he spoke. 

Schneep soon joined him over by the trunk, crouching down and beginning to pick up bits and pieces. “Marvin?” He began, making Marvin tilt his head. “Yeah? What’s up?” As the doctor carefully placed a folded up cloak into the trunk, he spoke. “Vell, me and Chase are planning on going out on Friday night zo.. I don’t zuppose you’d be available to look after Jack vor a few hours?” 

The Magician bit his lip, as if contemplating the request. “Ah. Well, congrats on the date! But I can’t, I’ve got a show on friday night and I won’t be home until 3am.” Henrik nodded understandingly, before humming to himself, contemplating his other options. “I don’t zuppose Jackie vould be free?” At that, Marvin shook his head as he stood up. “He’s always out on Fridays. Apparently criminals are more active then.” 

“Ah.. I zee. Zank you.” With one last glance, Henrik saw nothing was left laying on the floor. Marvin closed the trunk, letting it’s heavy lid close with a satisfying thump. “Maybe you should try asking Jameson?” The Magician suggested as he took one of the trunk’s rusted handles in hand, beginning to pull it across the floor. “I vill, though, do you need any help moving zat?” 

Marvin waved his hand dismissively at the doctor, continuing to slowly pull the trunk along with him. “Nope! I’m fine, so go ahead and skedaddle. I think Jameson’s upstairs in his room right now.” 

With that, Henrik waved goodbye to the magician, mumbling a quiet “Zee you at dinner”, before making his way upstairs to the third floor of their tall home. 

The doctor stood on the third floor, outside of Jameson’s bedroom. While hoping the mute was home, he knocked on the door three times, the sound of his fist tapping the wooden door resounding throughout the third floor. 

The door slowly opened with a creak, revealing Jameson standing there with an anxious expression, hand clutching the doorknob. Though, once he saw Henrik, his expression softened to a small smile and he began to sign. ‘Greetings Doc! Can I help you?’ Paying careful attention to the movements of the mute’s hands, Schneep then spoke. “Vell.. I need zomeone to look after Jack vor a few hours on Friday night. I’m going out vith Chase and Jack needs zomeone to make sure he’s fine. I don’t zuppose you’d be available?” 

Jameson frowned shaking his head before signing his response. ‘I would if I could, but I’ve got rehearsals on friday. I’ll be busy all day and most of the evening. Have you tried asking Marvin or Jackie?’ Henrik frowned, though he understood. “It’z alright. I’ll go check if either of z’em are free, zank you.” 

Jameson smiled, nodding as he shut the door, leaving Henrik standing out in the hallway. The Doctor proceeded to let out a string of german curses under his breath as he made his way back over to the stairs. He had no one else to ask, Jameson, Marvin, and Jackie were all busy and.. Well, Robbie couldn’t exactly be trusted around medical equipment. “Great.. I have no one to- Unless..” Henrik froze, humming to himself as he thought. He’d never hear the end of it from Jackie and Chase if he did but, there was no other option. 

Henrik made his way downstairs, soon finding himself standing outside of Anti’s bedroom door. Taking in a deep breath, he knocked on the dark wood of the door. After receiving no response, he tried the doorknob, turning it slowly. To his surprise, it was unlocked. “Anti? I’m coming in-” He pushed open the door, eyes widening at what he saw. A choked scream escaped his lips at the sight. 

“Anti?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heehee 
> 
> Sorry about the cliffhanger! (Not really). 
> 
> The next chapter is gonna be alllll about our baby boy Robbie


	5. Egos and Empathy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter <3

Henrik screamed, the sound filling the silence of the manor, yet going unheard by most residents. 

His eyes were wide, his hands trembling as he stared at the sight in front of him, vision beginning to fade to white. 

He breathed heavily, the faintness from earlier returning, though before the good doctor could do anything. 

We cut to the perspective of someone, a few weeks earlier. 

 

Robbie peeked around the corner, his vision as blurry as ever as his pallid hand clung onto the doorframe. He gazed across the bedroom, his eyes focusing on the man laying in his hospital bed, unmoving aside from the slow rise and fall of his chest. The sound of a monitor beeping along with a heart beat slowly filled the room, ringing in the Zombie’s decayed ears. Robbie often thought about the man, who’s name was Jack. He always wondered what he was like. The zombie had never properly met him, seeing as Jack was asleep around the time Robbie “woke up”. 

His gaze trailed up and down, looking at everything that was stuck in Jack’s body, connecting him to what seemed like hundreds of machines. Though, Robbie’s attention was caught by the bandages that were wrapped around the sleeping man’s throat. 

Robbie didn’t know why he needed bandages, or why Jack needed all these machines; after all, the Zombie had been able to wake up by himself just a year ago. Though, whenever he asked about either reason, the conversation was either changed or dropped as quickly as it had started. The bandages around his neck were what Robbie was always the most curious about. He wanted to know what caused the injury, really, really badly. But he never got an answer. From what the zombie could gather during fights at dinner, it had something to do with his friend Anti, which confused him. Anti would never hurt anyone, especially not Jack! So he was curious as to what had really happened to the sleeping man. 

Robbie lingered in the doorway, staring at Jack until a hand touched his shoulder, making the zombie flinch and turn around, looking at Schneep, who had a scowl on his tired looking face. “Robbie, vat have I told z’you about veing in here?” Robbie looked up at the doctor, trying to focus his blurry vision on his face as he thought, mulling over his words carefully, before slowly speaking. “..N-Not.. Allowed?” Speaking was difficult for Robbie, though he wasn’t sure why. He knew the words and how to say them, but when it came to actually speaking, everything he said was slurred and messy. It frustrated Robbie to no end. 

“Zat’s right,” The doctor sighed, his lips twitching into a small smile, one Robbie was barely able to see out of the corner of his eye. Henrik gently squeezed the Zombie’s shoulder, trying to give him some sense of comfort. Though overall, it was just kinda awkward. “Now.. How about z’you go to your v’room and play for a bit? Or you could go hang out vith Anti for a bit vile I get back to v’work.” Robbie frowned. Well, he tried to. It was hard to convey emotions properly when half of your face is missing. He hated being treated like a child most of the time. It wasn’t too bad (most of the time). He couldn’t exactly protest without starting a fight and even then, Robbie was physically weak. So, with nothing more than a short nod, he pulled himself out of Henrik’s hold and began to shuffle down the hallway, making his way to Anti’s room. 

The doctor sighed, watching Robbie leave before slipping into Jack’s bedroom, closing the door behind him. 

Robbie knocked on Anti’s door. Three slow, but weak taps against the dark wood. It swung open, the hinges letting out a ear piercing squeak that would make any living person cringe. Luckily for the two that stood on either side of the door, they weren’t exactly human. 

Anti looked down at Robbie with a wide grin, baring his fangs as he reached his hand out, ruffling the mop of purple hair upon the zombie’s head. The petting made Robbie let out a happy noise, whether it was a sigh or a mewl is up for debate. “C̛an̢ I he͘lp҉ yo͏u?” The demon spoke as Robbie leaned up into the petting, enjoying the feeling of Anti’s painted nails tangling in the knots of his hair. “Doctor.. K-Kicked me.. Out again..” Anti nodded along, letting Robbie take his time to speak. The zombie pointed down at the closed door, making Anti peer out of his room, a frown falling across his face once he saw the room. “Aḩ.. Right.҉ So, ͢af̸t̴e͘r ͏th͡e ̢gơod̢ Ḑo͞ct̨or kįcked̨ ̷y̴ou͝ out̴,̷ ͟I͘ ̛a͘şs҉um͜e͡ you've͟ c͜o͞me̷ ̕to se̷ek r͠ef̢u҉ge w͘i̷t͏h y҉ou̶r͝ fav͞ouŗite d̕e̡mon?̷ ҉” Robbie nodded, pouting to the best of his ability as Anti pulled his hand away, already missing the feeling of his hand. “Can.. Can I..” Robbie began, his voice a soft mumble. “Come.. In?” Anti nodded, taking one of the zombies clammy hands into his, leading the undead boy into his room. 

Though, as Anti held his hand, Robbie looked down. He gazed at the demon’s arms, which were completely covered in fresh looking cuts. He seemed to have new bandages on, which perplexed the Zombie. “H҉m͏m̸.. ͜I̴ ҉th͟in͞k yo̵u may h̢av͟e ͝l͡ef̕t͘ your c̸at̴ in̡ ̷her͝e̴ şomew̷h͟er̸e.” Anti spoke, though mostly to himself as he kicked the door shut behind him. He then glitched, making Robbie blink to shield what was left of his sight. 

The zombie looked around the room, taking in as much detail as he could of the demon’s dark bedroom. Two mattresses, stacked on top of eachother were tucked into the top right corner, below a boarded up window. Pillows and a couple stained blankets were haphazardly thrown on top. Old TVs that’d been stolen from the attic were stacked in the other corner, all leaving a mess of cables on the floor that all eventually came back to a clearly overloaded powerboard that was plugged into the wall. The screens were alive, flickering with static. A few lamps were strewn across the room, sat upon boxes, all switched on. The ceiling lights were all broken, dangling dangerously from their sockets in the roof. 

Robbie glanced over to another corner, taking in the sight of Anti’s computer set up. Two monitors, an old keyboard, a nearly dead laptop and a mouse, which was currently dangling off of the coffee table everything was sat upon. 

The zombie took a step forward, accidentally kicking something. He looked down, barely able to make out what he had kicked in the poor lighting of the room. Resting at his foot was an empty beer bottle. Well, it was the bottom half of one. It had been broken. Where the top half was, Robbie had no idea. He slowly shuffled forward, making his way across the cable covered carpet that covered the floor. 

Anti had been glitching all over the room, searching through piles of stuff in an attempt to find Robbie’s plush cat, which had supposedly been left in here. Robbie made his way through the floor, which was littered with empty bottles, wrappers and cables, before he was able to sit himself down on the stacked mattresses, sighing happily as he laid down, sinking into the soft feeling of the makeshift bed. A flash of green pixels filled Robbie’s vision and suddenly Anti was standing above him, dangling a “well loved” cat plushie in his hold. 

“Kitty!” Robbie smiled, reaching out and taking a hold of the cat, quickly pulling it close to his chest. Anti rolled his eyes, though the soft smile didn’t leave his face as he took a seat on the ‘bed’ next to the zombie. “I͏ kne̕w̨ it ̡was ̵i̢n͢ here.̶ “ 

Robbie sat up, cradling the cat to his chest, making it nuzzle it’s face into the soft fabric of his striped sweater. Now satisfied with his cat, he looked over at Anti, before gesturing to his bandaged arms. “More..” He mumbled, not needing any more words to get the point across. The demon froze, his body suddenly glitching violently, before settling just as quickly as it had begun. “Eh,̧ it's no̡th͘i͝ng.̢ D̕o͝n't҉ ̧w͜o̴r̷r͘y͝ ͟about̛ ̨i̵t͠,̨ alrig̶h̡t͏?̕ ̕I͞'҉m f̷ine.” Anti reached his hand out, beginning to affectionately pet the zombie’s messy hair. Robbie just nodded, relaxing at the touch. Though, even in the low lighting and with his bad vision, he swore he saw something, like a shard of glass sticking out of one of the exposed cuts on the demon’s arm. 

Before Robbie could question it, Anti spoke up again, eager to change the subject. “Ho͞w abou͜t ͝yơu ̕t͟e̵l͝l me͡ all a̷bout wh̴a҉t͠ y̵o͝ų ̢did̵ ͘t̵ơda̕y͜, ͡oka̸y?̨” He nodded, opening his mouth to speak, any thoughts or questions about what Robbie saw slipped away from his mind as he began to tell his friend about how he’d spent all morning with Jameson. 

 

Weeks in the future, but not many, a body lays on a carpeted floor which is covered in messy cables and wrappers for different packaged foods. 

He is trembling, unable to keep his form steady. Vision is fading, even as he hears the bedroom door swing open, followed by a scream. 

The man looks up, barely able to recognize the silhouette of the Doctor standing above him. 

He opens his mouth to speak, just barely able to get out one word, before everything went dark. 

“H̢҉-҉̸H̡e̢nr͘i̡̕k̴̴͢.͠.͜͞͡ ҉̡”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3 
> 
> Sorry that it's a little bit shorter then usual!   
> Hopefully the next one is a bit longer. 
> 
> And speaking of the next one, it'll be all about Jameson!


	6. Filmography and Family

While Jameson had never properly met Jack, he still longed for the youtuber to wake up.

The mute looked into the bathroom mirror, gazing at his own reflection. It was uncanny sometimes, to look at himself and see the face of the man who laid unconscious just a floor below where Jameson stood. It was unsettling, to say the least. Though on the other hand, everyone looked nearly identical to Jack. But there were differences, some small, some large. 

 

Chase always had an exhausted expression, no matter how hard he tried to hide the tired look in his eyes. Some of Jack’s fans had recently left comments on the videos asking if he was alright because of it. Jackie’s eyes were two different colors; one blue, one a striking green. His body was slightly bigger, stronger. Henrik’s glasses seemingly never left his face, along with his sharper features. Marvin’s hair was long, going down to his shoulders. The cat mask never left his face, causing Jameson to often wonder what was behind it. Robbie’s entire complexion was incredibly pale, almost grey. Not to mention, half of his face was completely missing. 

Though.. Anti was somehow the most similar, yet the most different. He was Jack… But wrong. There was something so off about him. The litters of scars and bruises across the demon’s body didn’t do much to lower his terrifying aura. His form was unstable. Jameson was always uncomfortable around him and nothing could ever change that. 

The mute exchanged one last look with himself in the mirror, before reaching into his breast pocket and fishing out his old pocket watch. It felt heavy in his hand, but it’s weight was a comfort. With a click of the metal button, it opened up, displaying the elegant clock inside, revealing the time to be 6:30pm. Time was a funny thing to Jameson. He often found it didn’t quite work for him. Sometimes he’d blink and he’d be back at home, other times he’d take a step onto the manors lawn, but found himself walking right into the parking lot of the studio he worked at. He often found that time didn’t work quite right with him, but he dealt with it. 

Finding his surroundings as a blur was a usual occurrence that didn’t quite bother him anymore. 

In seconds, the pocket watch was closed and slipped back into the pocket of his waistcoat and Jameson was out of the bathroom, turning off the lights before shutting the door behind him with a satisfying click. 

He glanced around the third floor, seeing all bedroom doors shut. No one was out and about up here, aside from the dapper man, who promptly made his way down the creaky old stairs. Once down on the second floor, he noticed that the lights were flickering slightly. A low, ear piercing screech came from Anti’s room, prompting him to quickly make his way down to the first floor, not wanting to take part in whatever the Demon was doing. If he lingered, the mute would likely get dragged into something unpleasant. Again. 

He shuddered from the brief thought, before looking at the first floor, seeing Jackie on one of the living room’s loveseats, fast asleep and still in his superhero get-up. Marvin was over in the kitchen, making himself some dinner. The door to the recording room was shut, likely locked tight. Chase usually spent all day in there. Jameson never ever even saw him on some days. With quick steps, hoping to not bother Jackie or Marvin, the mute made his way to the front door and quickly stepped outside, sighing as the cool evening breeze hit his face. It was always nice to just stand on their porch and admire the view. Trees stood still, surrounding the manor, their leaves rustling in the wind. Jameson looked up, eyes squinting slightly as he looked at the sun, which was slowly beginning to set. The sky had turned a light shade of pink. Clouds drifted along, tinged blue, purple and orange. Jameson took in a deep breath, letting his eyes slip shut. He relaxed, taking in the peaceful atmosphere. 

The sound of chatter suddenly filled his ears and Jameson’s eyes quickly opened and he looked around, finding himself sitting at a table in a busy restaurant. At the table with him were his coworkers, actors, friends and managers. He shrugged, smiling at them before digging into the meal that sat before him. The mute was supposed to go out for dinner tonight, but he couldn’t figure out if this was last week's dinner, or tonights. If tonight was even tonight. 

It made his head hurt sometimes. 

“Y’know Jameson,” One of his coworkers spoke up, he glanced over at her, tilting his head. “Sometimes I think you’ve literally just walked right out of the past.” Jameson paused, before quickly smiling and laughing it off. If only she knew how right she was. 

Dinner was over in a flash, quite literally. At one point the lights had suddenly gone way too bright and once they passed, Jameson was left standing on the dimly lit porch of his home. With a glance around, he noted that he was alone and that it was dark out. The stars were out, shining brightly as the actor fished out his pocket watch, popping it open to see the time.

8:30pm. He hoped it was still the same day it had started as. 

Jameson turned the door handle, pushing it open. Everything seemed normal, for the most part. He stepped inside, shutting it behind him as he looked around. Jackie was gone from the living room, presumably out fighting crime. He could hear noises coming from Schneep’s office, so naturally, he assumed the Doctor was in there, working away like normal. The actor began making his way towards the staircase. 

Once he began to walk up the stairs, making soft creaks each time his formal shoes hit the old wood, Jameson spotted Marvin, who was dragging a heavy looking trunk across the floor of the second storey. He skipped up a couple of stairs, waving at Marvin, who smiled back. “Heya J.J! How are you?” 

Jameson nodded, before signing back. ‘I’m doing well! Just wondering if you need any help with that trunk.’ He extended his hand, gesturing to the trunk that was behind Marvin. It looked old, kinda worn out. Most likely antique. Though Marvin soon responded with a wide smile that showed off his small fangs. “I’ll be fine! Thank you though. So, I’ll see you at dinner?” Jameson shrugged, before signing back. ‘I already ate.’ Marvin tilted his head, making a few strands of his long hair dangle in front of the mask he wore. “Ah, okay. I’ll see you later then!” The actor nodded, waving goodbye before going to the stairs, beginning to make his way up to the third floor. 

Once he stepped up onto the third floor landing, he heard a loud crash. Which Jameson assumed was Marvin falling with his trunk. 

Jameson sighed, hesitant to even move. Schneep was downstairs, right? Marvin would be fine. He assured himself before quickly heading back to his bedroom. He had plans for tonight after all. 

The mute turned the knob on his bedroom door, before pushing it open in one swift movement. His anxious expression relaxed, shifting into a small smile at the sight of his familiar room. The room was cozy, relaxed. In the middle of the wall right across from the door was a queen sized bed, covered in fluffy blankets, pillows and one or two plushies. The windows were all shut, as usual. The room was only lit by the soft lights of small lamps and candles that rested on his bedside tables, dresser and desk.

He stepped inside, letting out a happy sigh as the door shut behind him. Jameson crouched down, taking off his shoes and setting them on the right side of the door, alongside his other pairs. Which all sat, neatly lined up together upon the fluffy carpet. Jameson took off his hat, hanging it on a hook that was attached to the back of his door. He glanced around the room, seeing a rather out of place, but familiar item resting on his dresser. The actor walked over to it, opening up the.. Laptop. That’s what Chase had called it. He opened it up, flinching slightly when it flickered to life. Chase had given it to him a couple weeks ago, after he had mentioned that he didn’t own many electronics. J.J still hadn’t really figured out how to use it, but he was getting the hang of it. Kinda. 

He went to type in the password, which was kept on a sticky note, suck onto the wall above the dresser. Someone knocked on his bedroom door, three times. The sound echoed around the quiet atmosphere of the third floor. 

Curious as to what someone would want at this hour, he quickly opened the door, smiling when he saw that Henrik was standing there. ‘Greetings Doc! Can I help you?’ He signed, as Henrik carefully studied his hands, figuring out what he was saying, before responding. “Vell.. I need zomeone to look after Jack vor a few hours on Friday night. I’m going out vith Chase and Jack needs zomeone to make sure he’s fine. I don’t zuppose you’d be available?” Jameson shook his head, frowning as he kept signing. ‘I would if I could, but I’ve got rehearsals on Friday. I’ll be busy all day and most of the evening. Have you tried asking Marvin or Jackie?’

Jameson felt really bad about this, but then again, he didn’t exactly trust himself around Jack. From what the others have said, he’s definitely watched over him before, but he doesn’t remember doing so. He probably just hasn’t lived that part of his life yet. 

Henrik frowned, clearly disappointed, which made the guilty feeling grow in Jameson. He wanted to help, but he couldn’t. “It’z alright. I’ll go check if either of z’em are free, zank you.” Jameson nodded forcing a small smile, before he closed the door, sighing to himself. He turned around, leaning against the back of the door, letting his eyes slip shut as Henrik walked away, making his footsteps echo slightly. 

“I’m sorry…” He whispered to himself, voice straining. Jameson felt the hard wood turn into a soft fabric, prompting him to open his eyes. He was now in bed, changed into a pair of pyjamas. It was presumably the same night, as he could faintly hear Henrik talking to someone, or himself, outside of his room. 

Jameson sighed to himself as he shifted around in his bed, feeling the plush fabric of his sheets move with him as the dapper man settled in for the night, getting as comfortable as he could. He looked in front of him, seeing his laptop, open and propped up on top of a white cushion covered in fake fur. The lit screen flickers slightly as Jameson stared at the familiar face that seemed to stare back. 

Jameson hugged another pillow to his chest, feeling a tinge of guilt in his stomach as he looked at Jack’s smiling face. He wasn’t sure which video it was, or when he had put it on, but Jameson reached out, picking up a pair of headphones Chase had lent him which had been resting on the sheets. Before carefully placing them over his ears. If Jameson hadn’t put them on, perhaps he would’ve heard Henrik’s scream of shock. The events of that night could’ve been entirely different. But as he settled and reached his hand out, pressing the spacebar which unpaused the video, Schneep’s scream went unheard by the dapper man. 

He leaned back against the headboard as Jack began to talk, the slightly too loud audio filling his mind through the headphones. Jameson’s hold on the pillow he had grew tighter as his mind drifted. 

According to old photos, videos and testimony from the fellow residents of Jack’s home, everything had been better when he was with them. There were less fights, Chase apparently wasn’t as heavy of a drinker, Schneep actually got some sleep for once, Jackie wouldn’t have to stay on the couch every now and again because of a fight that occurred between him and Marvin. Anti wouldn’t even exist. J.J often felt worried for his friends and their clearly decaying mental states.

Jameson sometimes had to take care of everyone when they couldn’t do it themselves. He often felt like he was imposing on Jack’s overall role in their household. 

He sighed, glancing over at his pocket watch which sat upon his bedside table, the silver reflecting the low light of the lamp that rested just next to the watch. Video temporarily forgotten, Jack’s voice essentially turning to white noise as he reached over to the table, carefully picking up his watch. The screen flickers, video turning to static for a split second before going back to normal. 

The pocket watch felt so heavy in his palm. 

It felt hot against his skin, almost as if it were trying to burn through his palm. 

As Jameson stared at the watch, his lamps and laptop began flickering heavily. Jack’s voice turned to a painful static, causing Jameson to jump, dropping the watch onto his bed and quickly removing the headphones, nearly throwing them across the room. 

The flickering got more intense, until the light resting on his bedside table burst, sending shards of glass flying onto the floor. 

With wide eyes, he swallowed down a scream of surprise. The actor made his way out of his room, gasping when he saw all of the lights in the hallway flickering. A painful screech filled the house, nearly loud enough to make Jameson’s ears bleed. 

He felt dizzy. 

Way too dizzy. 

Jameson couldn’t… Stand up straight… 

J.J quickly fell to his knees, breathing heavily as the ringing only grew louder, until he blacked out, falling face first onto the floor, unconscious. 

\------- 

Jameson woke with a startled gasp. Finding he wasn’t lying on the wooden floorboards in his pajamas anymore. 

He was instead out in the lawn of the manor.

It looked like spring. 

Flowers were blooming, birds were chirping, the grass was such a lovely and bright green. 

Everyone was standing out in the grass, looking happy and relaxed. 

But there was someone new. A man with brown hair and a wide smile, only made more unique by the bandages around his neck. He was laughing and smiling, his hand held by another. 

Jameson’s vision was getting blurry. He could only focus on the man. He seemed so familiar. 

Knitting his eyebrows, he reached out, calling out a name that felt right. “Jack-” 

Before everything went dark. 

\-------

Jameson woke up with a start, quickly sitting up in bed, breathing heavily. He had no idea what day it was. If last night was really last night, or if it hadn’t happened yet. 

He looked around, sighing as he saw his pocket watch sitting on his bedside table. 

J.J pushed the blankets off of him, standing up and preparing himself for the day. 

His mind lingered on what he saw. The man. He had called out a name, but he couldn’t remember what he said. 

As he began to dress, all memories of the future faded from his mind. 

There was no point in worrying about it. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! 
> 
> Now, I will be out of my town for a week without WiFi, so don't expect any more updates for a while :c 
> 
> But, there's only one boy left for this next chapter ;3 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed! 
> 
> Feel free to follow me on tumblr @maisymousebabey if you wanna see some more of my stuff


	7. Glitches and Greetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally! im sorry this took so long, I kept meaning to write it but everything went a little crazy busy. 
> 
> But here it is! 
> 
> Chapter 7! Enjoy!

A dull ache coursed through his body. He was so tired. So fucking tired of waking up every day to the sunlight unforgivingly pouring into his room through the cracks of his boarded up windows. He was sick and tired of looking next door and seeing that comatose jackass not move an inch from the night before. He was tired of having to hold back the guilt and anguish that swirled in his mind on the daily. 

He was fucking tired of being Anti. 

That same thought ran through Anti’s mind, over and over as the demon laid still on his makeshift bed. He groaned and shifted around, trying to get more comfortable, but this just caused one of the annoyingly too bright beams of sunlight to hit his eyes, making him cringe. Anti squinted, before sitting up. Staying hunched over, head hanging low as to avoid the sunlight. 

His body felt sore. Sluggish. 

The slow rise and fall of his bare chest accompanied his breathing. 

As Anti glanced down at his chest, he grumbled at seeing the streaks of both dried and fresh blood covering his pale skin. As a shiver ran through his body from the cool temperature of his bedroom, his form shifted, flickering a green before settling. He never slept with a shirt on anymore, seeing as his throat would never stop bleeding in his sleep. It’d been a whole year, nearly two since he dragged that cold blade across his.. No. Jack’s throat. Though simply the thought of it sent glitching shivers down Anti’s spine. 

He reached his left hand up, tentatively poking a finger into the neck wound, audibly wincing as it entered. Anti dug it around, trying to see if anything had healed. 

While it likely didn’t help, it was enough of a daily routine for Anti to never consider.. Yknow, not shoving his fingers inside of a throat wound. 

Satisfied, yet unsatisfied with the clearly not healed slit throat, Anti pulled his finger out, causing a spurt of bright blood to gush out, dribbling down his neck, to his collarbone, before trickling down to his stomach to join the blood stain that had settled on his abdomen overnight. 

“I͜ ͏nee̡d̷ a͢ f̕uck̸in͝' s͠h͠ǫw͠e҉r.” He spoke his first words for that day in a low voice, which was strained. As Anti slowly forced himself to slide out from underneath his comfy, yet worn down bed sheets, his body flickered and groaned in protest. His legs felt weak, yet Anti forced himself to stand up, swaying slightly from side to side before he took a step forward, grumbling under his breath as he made his way over to the door. 

Anti took the doorknob in hand, tilting it before pushing it open. He cringed, almost hissing as the light from the hallway filled his vision. The demon just hunched over, avoiding looking up into the way too bright lights as he walked into the hallway, standing in just a pair of boxers, which had dried up blood soaked into the otherwise comfy material. 

Luckily for him, no one was there to gawk at his blood soaked appearance. 

Anti just kicked the door shut behind him, before glitching almost violently, which made him cringe, screeching before his form stilled, appearing in the second floor bathroom. A sudden agony ripped through his body, making Anti scream as he fell to his knees, beginning to claw at the tiled floor of the bathroom. 

Blood began to gush from his wounds, dribbling out and forming puddles and smears all over the white floor. Fresh cuts were bleeding. His right eye was leaking blood like he was crying. His throat was like a waterfall. 

Anti choked, scrabbling for support as he began to crawl along the floor, making his way to the bathtub. Strained coughs filled the bathroom as lights began to flicker violently, like they were about to burst. Though a few broken lights were the least of Anti’s worries at the moment, seeing as the demon had just coughed up a few strands of clotted blood, adding to the mess on the floor. 

His hand trembled, glitching and turning fuzzy as he reached out, clutching desperalty onto the edge of the bathtub, smearing its white surface with a bloody handprint. Anti groaned, even whimpered as he pulled himself up off of the ground, sending sparks of pain through his body, before he fell forward, collapsing into the tub. He laid still, just whimpering and glitching. The demon’s body shifted, his form shaking and lagging as his vision blurred from the overwhelming pain. All Anti could do was lay there and wait for it to pass. Near insufferable pain like this was a daily routine for Anti at this point. It had been a whole year since it began. Since Jack had fallen unconscious. Each day it got worse and worse as Anti got weaker and weaker. 

Anti let out a shaky and distorted whimper, squeezing his eyes shut as thoughts raced through his mind. It was pathetic really, how far he had fallen. Anti had once been a powerful entity who only wanted to feed off of others suffering. And yet here he was, laying half naked in a cold bathtub, bleeding heavily while on the verge of tears. Every day his body grew weaker, unable to handle the damage it had taken. 

Old injuries ache constantly, sometimes making just taking a single step excruciating for the demon. 

But all Anti could do was take it. He could never bring himself to ask for help. Especially not from anyone he was currently living with. Just the thought of any of them seeing him so vulnerable made him cringe. After what felt like an eternity, Anti could finally move. 

The demon sat up, groaning as he did. Anti stayed still. Well, as still as his flickering form would allow. With a shaky hand, he grabbed the handle, turning it slowly, allowing a stream of cool water to gush out from the faucet and into the tub, making the blood begin to wash down the drain along with it. Anti looked down, watching silently as the water and blood gushed around either side of him, as if it was racing to get down the drain as quick as it could. He didn’t really have anything to say. All Anti felt like he could do was stare at the red water as it slipped down the drain pipe. 

Eventually, Anti slowly stood up, groaning from the way his joints popped and creaked as he moved. Most of the blood had slipped down the drain at this point, at least, all the blood in the bathtub. The once clean bathroom floor was a wreck and a problem, which Anti currently didn’t want to deal with. For now, he decided to just focus on cleaning himself up. He peeled his now stained boxers off and tossed them aside. They fell to the bathroom floor with a soft slapping noise, caused by the wet material. 

The demon soon turned off the bath faucet, instead going to the shower head and turning it on. Letting out a little sigh as the warm water hit his face. The little bit of relief didn’t last for long as he began to wash off his chest, wincing as water hit his throat. 

But a small tinge of pain was normal. Pain was... Normal, for Anti. He experienced it every day on differing levels. So he pushed through, continuing to shower as thoughts raced through his mind. 

\---- 

Anti shut his bedroom door behind him, grumbling under his breath as it clicked. He took a step forward, running a hand through his mop of green hair. The demon had forgotten to lock his door, a decision he’d both regret immensely, while also remaining forever grateful for. 

You see, the thing about being an immortal demon, is that no matter what happens, it’s kinda impossible for you to die. Which was convenient for Anti, as he needed ways to take out his frustrations. Each day he spent in this house was like hell. Everyone was too loud, too annoying. Their voices were like nails on a chalkboard at times. Even the mute one was annoying as all hell. 

The only ones Anti could really tolerate were Robbie and Jack. Robbie was soft spoken and weirdly innocent. It was impossible to not be attached to him at times. And well.. Jack was always dead silent, so that was a plus. Anti often spent hours alone with Jack, just sitting and staring at him in silence. Though this was only when the good doctor had either gone to bed, or passed out in his chair, as usual. He always stared at the bandages around Jack’s neck. They hid what he had done to him. What Anti had done to the both of them. 

Just looking at the bandages always sent a weirdly possessive feeling through Anti’s mind. Like they were some kind of collar, marking his property. Of course, he could never touch Jack in any way, seeing as it would start some joint hissy fit thrown by everyone else, and end in Jackie likely punching him in the face. So all he could do is perch himself on top of whatever was most convenient and just watch. 

“F̵̹̘̗͚ͅu͖͔c͍̼̻̮ͅk̬̲̙͠.̸̪.͚̟̱͟ ̣Fṷ͈̖̭̼͠c̹k̷̼̜̜͉̰͚ͅ ̶͕̤̙͍͚̮f͍͚͔͍u̥͍̺͓ͅͅc̜̯k͕̙͜ ̖̰f̗̫u̠̰̟̲͍c̻̥͚͖͉̮͜ḵ̘͍̙͈̩.͠ ͎̭̲͇Q̦̣͇͓̰̹̺u͙͔̤͎i̺̭t͇ ͖̖͚̣̙̯t͞h̟͚i̝n̸̪͈̩̦̤k̟̠̭̙̠̣̟͜i͈̠̙͉̗n̫͖̼̼̹͞g̸͕̬ ̰̣̙̙͍̞a̙͓̯b͢o̧̯̜̙͉ṳ͙t҉ ̺͟h͈̼̲̮̫̝̤i̩̪̹̼̤͙m̶͖.̯͇ ̱͎͚̺̫” Anti dug his painted fingernails into his thighs, resisting the urge to slap some sense into himself. “Th҉ere'҉s҉ no g͜od ̡d̷a̢mn p̸o̷in͏t ͢in t͡h͞in̛k̷i̶n͞g̛ a͠b̵ou̴t h͡im.” Thinking about the comatose asshole in the room next door always left him feeling weird. Some might call it attraction, others would say it was narcissism. Anti would call it, a ‘waste of time and nothing but a useless distraction’. But that wouldn’t stop the dull ache in his chest. He wasn’t even sure when these feelings had begun. All Anti knew is that they sucked, and he wanted nothing more then to rip his heart out and eat it, before going to do the same to Jack and be over with all these ridiculous emotions.

His heart was thumping against his chest, as Anti’s already static breathing grew ragged. He always got like this when he thought about Jack. Thinking about touching him, holding him, hearing him laugh. He wanted to see light in those eyes again. Anti screamed, clutching at the sides of his head, clawing away at his flesh with chipped nails, trying to get these thoughts out of his head. Attraction was too human. He couldn’t handle it. Anti wanted nothing more then to claw open Jack’s chest and shred his insides to fleshy chunks but at the same time, he wanted to be allowed to hold his hand. Just like Chase did everytime he paid Jack a visit. All he craved was intimacy from the comatose bastard.

Anti let out a frustrated shriek, no doubt making the lights outside of his bedroom flicker with the sheer power behind his cry of anguish. It was all too much. The feelings, the icky, useless, human feelings which were bundled up inside of his chest. 

He fell to the floor, scrabbling around for something to hold onto as Anti tried to steady his breathing. His form flickered and shifted, filling the room with bright flashes of red and green. 

Eventually, the palm of his hand fell upon a shard of glass, laying buried in his carpet. The glass had likely come from one of the countless broken beer bottles that littered the demons messy bedroom. He clutched onto it, not minding the way the sharp edges dug into his skin. The feeling was a relief. A distraction. From all of the confusing thoughts running through his head. 

Anti winced as he lifted the glass up, squeezing his eyes shut as a thought of him and Jack standing together, hand in hand, raced through his mind. The thought alone was enough to make his cheeks flush and for his patience to snap. He was done with these icky mushy thoughts, he needed a distraction, now. Fueled by frustration and anger, Anti quickly slammed the shard of glass into his throat wound, digging it in far deeper then he’d ever pushed his fingers. A stunned silence passed, before Anti let out a feral scream, beginning to scratch and claw at the wound, trying to get the glass back out. 

He coughed, lurching forward as he began to hack up blood onto the dirty carpet. Anti tried to grab at the glass, poking his fingers into the open wound, which just caused him to cough again. 

He crawled forward, slowly making his way further onto the carpet. Anti’s vision was getting hazy. The blood kept coming, spilling out onto his rug. Footsteps could be heard outside his room. A single thought began to race through his mind; you didn’t lock the door you didn’t lock the door you didn’t lock the door you didn’t lock the door. Anti coughed again, letting out a scream as his mind raced. Someone could come in. They’d see him like this, weak, helpless, scared. It frightened him. Digging his hands into the carpet, clinging onto its fuzzy material. 

Anti slumped, laying still on his carpet as he bleed and coughed. His brain felt like it was full of static. 

The door swung open and someone began to speak, their voice and scream barely processed by the demon. 

He looked up, vision blurry but he could still recognise Henrik’s silhouette. He reached out weakly, mumbling his name before collapsing, vision going dark. 

\---

Anti woke up with a gasp, quickly sitting up. He regretted that decision almost instantly when the throbbing pain in his skull hit. With a soft hiss, he reached a hand up, resting it on his temple. "̢A͟h̴.̶.̛͞.̷͘ ̢̢̕F̢u̡͢c͜ķ.͠..͝͝"̧ The demon looked around the room he was in, finding he was sitting up on a single bed, covered in simple white sheets. The design of the room itself was neat and simple. A desk pushed up to one side of the room, the other wall covered by organised bookshelves. The walls were painted a soft blue and the windows overlooked the manor’s beautiful lawn. There was no doubt about it. This was Henrik’s bedroom. 

He reached a hand up, gently placing his palm over his throat. His palm was met with the soft texture of a wrap bandage, which was covering the ever present wound. Anti pulled his hand away, grimacing at the bloody residue on his fingertips. 

 

His hands were practically drenched in dried blood that no doubt had come from his own body. 

Anti sat still, letting the seconds tick by as he stared at his hands, only to be snapped out of his thoughts by the turning of the doors handle. His head turned, quickly looking at the door as it was pushed open, and in stepped the good doctor. “Ah, you’re avake. Zat’s good.” The thick accent made Anti cringe, through the throbbing pain in his skull, it was hard to process. “I vas beginning to z’ink z’at you veren’t going to vake up.” 

 

Anti knitted his eyebrows, looking at Henrik with confusion. “How ҉l͢ong̡..͞ Was ͜I o̸ut̸?҉” 

“...Two days.” 

Two days. He’d been unconscious for two days. Who knows what could’ve happened while he was out? Did everyone know? How’d he even get in Schneep’s room in the first place? Anti’s head was beginning to swim, losing himself in his thoughts. A gloved hand was placed on Anti’s shoulder, grounding him in the feeling. 

He felt so weak and vulnerable, but the hand on his shoulder was weirdly nice. Anti leaned in, closer to the touch. “Are you alright, Anti?” 

 

The demon just nodded. 

Henrik sighed, gently squeezing his shoulder. “Just relax.” Anti took in slow, deep breaths, letting them wash over him. He eventually managed to clear his head. 

The demon pulled back, pushing Henrik away with a light touch to his chest. “I͝'̛m͏͝ ̨͝fi͘͢n̕͝e̢.̷͡.̡” 

“Given what I saw in your vedroom and the vact that you remained unconscious vor two days, I zeriously doubt that.” Henrik crossed his arms over his chest, while looking down at Anti, a stern but concerned expression across his sharp features. Anti glanced away, feeling a pang of guilt in his chest at seeing the concern. 

Henrik sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before he continued to speak. “Look.. You don’t need to talk avout it. I von’t pry into your personal matters. If, vou do zomething vor me. I need a favor.” 

Needless, to say, Anti was confused. No one in this household had ever come to him for help or even a basic favor. “..W̵h̷at̛̕͟ ͢i̛s͟ ͏̵i̷t̢͢͡?” 

“..Just, don’t tell Jackie or Chase. Vut, I need vou to look avter Jack for a few hours on Friday night.” 

Anti’s eyes widened and he swore that he could feel his heart stopping in his chest.


	8. Honesty and Hospitality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this! It's a bit shorter then usual, but I figured that it didn't need to be any longer then it is.   
> Reminder that I have a tumblr and asks are open! So feel free to come visit me @maisymousebabey and leave an ask or two <33

He couldn’t fucking believe this. He had agreed to this stupid plan. These were the thoughts, repeatedly running through Anti’s mind. He was dead silent, focusing on Jack’s sleeping body, staring at how his chest slowly rose and fell, making the blankets that covered him shift slightly with each breath. Henrik’s accent heavy rambling had long since turned to white noise in the back of his head, all he had to do was nod along and make little hums of agreement now and again. The bandages that were still around Anti’s throat felt heavy, grounding him slightly so he wouldn’t zone out completely. He found that with the dressing that covered his slit throat, he looked a little bit more like Jack. It was unsettling. Nearly uncomfortable. But Henrik had insisted he kept them on for at least a while, not wanting to upset the doctor any more then he already had, he had just grumbled, but complied. 

“.....” Anti was silent, staring at Jack with an unreadable expression. There was a fluttery feeling in his stomach, like he had swallowed some live butterflies and they were flying around, desperately trying to escape before they were digested by the acids in his stomach. It was, unpleasant, to say the least. 

“Anti? Anti? Are you liztening?” Anti was snapped out of his thoughts, via Henrik’s voice, sudden closeness and the hand on his shoulder. The demon flinched back, prompting Henrik to quickly pull his hand away. 

“Y͡ȩa͟ḩ ͞y͟eah.͟.̴ I͟ w͘a͟s lisţen͠i͡n̛g͏.” Henrik raised one of his thin eyebrows, clearly not believing the demon. Anti just forced a grin as he looked Henrik up and down, admiring his current outfit. The typical hospital scrubs and lab coat the Doctor wore nearly everyday had been switched out for a navy turtleneck and a pair of well fitted black dress pants. While clicking his tongue, Anti’s grin grew before he spoke. “You s͡u̶re a̕bout͏ we͜a͝rin͢g s̶om̡eth̵i͏ņg ̶as nįce a͢s ͢that͘ to͡n͏ig͡h̵t?̨ Do̡n̸'t ͟y̸ou ͘t͟h̢in͜k ͘it͜'̛ll ̵g͘e҉t̢ ruine̷d whe͢n ̴Ch͡ase ͢t̴r̴i͡es ri͟p͟ping̢ it o͡ff̢ yo̧u ̕toni҉g͜hţ?҉

He held back a high pitched giggle, watching with delight the way Henrik’s pale cheeks flushed a bright red. “Anti!” Henrik scoffed, trying to keep his expression neutral as he lightly wacked the demon’s shoulder. 

“Wh҉a̷͢t̸?̷̡ ̵͠I͜'̸m͝ ̡͞j̕u͞͝͏st ̷͡s͏͡a͠yinģ͏.̶̡” 

“Zat is highly inappropriate, Anti!” 

“Yea̶h͏,͞ ͡y͟e͟ah͟, ̢w̧h͡a͢tev̧er ̕you ̷s҉a̧y D̴o͟c.҉ “ 

Henrik rolled his eyes at the nickname, going to adjust his glasses before he spoke again. “Look, I z’need to get going in z’a minute, are you going to be alv’right on your own?” 

Anti fell silent, giving a quick glance over at Jack. He nodded, keeping his lips shut tight. Then, Henrik did something both sudden and unexpected. The Doctor pulled Anti into a tight hug, quickly squeezing him in his arms before pulling back. “Zank you, just.. Call v’me if anyzing happens. Alv’right?”

Anti, who was momentarily stunned at the sudden close contact, took just a second to collect himself before mumbling, “R҉i̧ght̛.. ̢I͝ wįl͡l͝.̵ ̷Good l̸u̷c͘k͠ o̶n ͘y͏oưr ͢da̡te.͟” without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 

Henrik’s expression was soft with a hint of gratitude in his eyes. The two exchanged their goodbyes, the good doctor mumbled a quiet farewell to Jack, before closing the door behind him. Leaving Anti alone with an unconscious Jack for a few hours. 

\--- 

2 hours. It’d been 2 hours since Henrik had left and Anti hadn’t moved. He stood still, leaning up against the wall, just staring at Jack. He hadn’t dared to move, frankly feeling a little scared of how tempted he was to take Jack’s hand in his and just hold it for a while.

If he acted upon this simple urge, Anti had no idea what would happen. Would Jack wake up the second he laced their fingers together? Could he kill Jack with just a touch? A million other awful and awkward possibilities ran through his head, accompanied by the sound of the heart monitor beeping its steady little beat. 

So he stayed still, too scared to touch. 

“.....” 

His silence only lasted for a few more minutes, before the first of many sobs escaped past Anti’s lips. They kept coming, he was unable to hold them back. Anti grimaced, the sound of his own whimpers and sobs making him cringe. He clutched onto his thighs, digging his chewed nails into the bits of skin that he could get to through the holes in his jeans. Tears had long since welled up in his eyes, already beginning to roll down his cheeks. Anti’s form grew fuzzy, struggling to stabilize as he stared at Jack’s sleeping body through watery eyes. A string of crackling apologies began to slip from his lips. “ I̛'̸̸m̡͏ ̷͡s̡̛o͝r͜r͜y̢ ̴҉I̵͠'m̸̵̛ ̵̶͝so̕r̴̶̢r̡̨y̴͞ I̛̕'̢m̧͘͡ ͘͘s̕͘o͏r͞r̵̢҉y̵ ̕I̸̵'̷͝m̴̸͞ ͝s̶o͜r̕r͘y̡ ̴͘Į͞'̸̧m̡̛ ̨so̕r̵r̸͜y I͞͝'͘͢m͘͝ ̢s̡͘o͠r̷͡r̨͝y̕͟ ̷̴I̴'̡͝m͜ ̨̛so͡ŗ̛̕ry̸ ̕͏I̴'͟͡m ͘͡s͜͠o͏r̸͠r͜y҉ ͢͠I҉̢'͜͞m͘͜ ̷s̸͞o̕r͝ry͟.̷̧͘.̴̛…” He was like a record playing over and over, feeling like he couldn’t muster up the courage to say anything else, even when the person he was apologising to couldn’t even respond. 

Crushing guilt and shame, anguish and bitterness all came tumbling out in his raspy and repeated apologies. 

He had never felt so weak. 

It was pathetic really, at least to Anti. Feelings were overwhelming. Too much. His chest ached, feeling both full and empty. His head was beginning to spin. 

He sniffled, cringing at the pathetic sound as the demon slowly began to make his way over to Jack. Anti reached out his hand, quickly lacing his fingers with Jack’s and squeezing tightly, marveling from the warmth and comfort the simple touch brought to him, washing over his broken body in waves. Anti fell to his knees, leaning some of his weight against the side of the bed, keeping his hand linked with Jack’s, holding his arm up. Jack didn’t stir, laying as still as a corpse. 

“F̴̨-Fu̧͢c҉k͡͠.҉̛̕.̕͠ ̨͝F̛̕ú̸̕c̶̢͞k̕͡ ͟t̷͞͏h̀̕i҉҉̧s͠ í͜s̶̢͟ ̛͢p̀a҉t̷ḩ͢͝èti͏c̸.̷. ͝Gód̵ ̸̢fùc̢ķ͞i̛n̸g ̡̨d̛a͝m̴m͘͟͞i͠͏t.̛͝.̛ ̸” Anti cursed himself out, trying to catch his own ragged breath as the last few tears slipped down his flushed cheeks. “I͝-̀I̸ ̕ju͏st̨ ẃis̀h you̸'̴d̡ ̨come͞ bac̕k.̢. Ęvęryone's͜ ́şo̢ ̶f̧ućkin̕g d̷ep̀re͞s͏sed ͡it's i͞ns̷uf̸ferab̨le. ̨I͞.҉. ͢I͜ ̵càn'̨t beli̢eve I͟'̕m̧ ̸sayi̶ng tḩis ̕but͢.͡. I ͞r̷eg̷r҉et ̢wh̛at̴ I ̀did. ̕It h̕uŕt҉s̸. Ev̡e̴r̡y͡ ̛da̴y.̢. ͞Ì H̸a̶t̢e ͘t͏hi҉s̢ fe̴eli͏ng. I҉t'̀s ̸s͢o h҉um̷án, ̡so ̷ick̢y.͞ ͘I͡'m̴ so att̸a͝ched ̷tò ̶ýo̵u͏ ͝I͏ c͏an̢ ̷b̷ar̨ely ͘l̷e̢ave ͠t͠ḩe͝ hous͝e͝ w͘ith͡out ͠c͠rav͡ing ̶you ͜next̷ to ͝m̨e. ͠I҉t̨'̵s҉ ͡śo ͜p̶a̛t͜he͜ti͞c.͢. I f͟e҉el̀ ̢lik̛e͠ I'm͜ ͠not ̶wh́ole͡ wi̴ţh͘out you ̡ańd͠ .. ̨Fu̢ck.͟. ͢Fu͟c̴k͟.̀ Fu͞c͘k̷. Fu̶ck̸.̷. Just, ̨ plea͝s̷e̶..͡.҉ W̵ak̕e ͝u͝p͡. ̶Maybe͟ ́when yo͡ų d͘o̧ ͝I̧'̀l͜l͡ g͞o̧ ͜a͞wa̶y.͘.” 

Anti gently pulled Jack’s hand off of the bed, watching it dangle in his tight hold for just a second, before leaning in and pressing a light kiss to the back of the Irishman’s hand. The kiss sent a feeling of fullness and a light shock through Anti’s body. It was nice, he thought before pulling back, resting back against the bed while practically cradling Jack’s hand in his. 

Temporarily at peace, Anti let himself relax, feeling free from guilt for just a minute. But then, Jack’s hand twitched. 

Anti’s eyes widened. He watched the hand, seeing it twitch again. The heart monitors beeping grew faster. Then the sound of someone choking filled the room. 

 

Anti quickly stood up, almost screaming at the sight of Jack, thrashing around in his bed, eyes wide up, very much conscious. The Irishman was choking on the tube that had been stuffed down his throat. Anti, without much thought and only panic, let go of jack’s hand and quickly grabbed onto the tube, yanking it out of his throat and stumbling back, dropping it to the floor. Anti’s eyes were wide as Jack coughed, gagging on spit for a second before he slowly sat up. Jack was shaking, trembling like a leaf, he glanced at Anti, making direct eye contact. The apparently-no-longer-comatose man’s expression was unreadable. 

“..Jack?” Anti spoke, shocked by the clarity of his voice. There was no glitch, no fuzz. Only.. Jack. He reached out, taking a step forward. 

Jack lifted up his hand. The next thing Anti knew was that Jack had just punched him in the face, and he was stumbling back from the shock, more than the impact. 

“H̸̛Ę̵Ỳ̛͟-̸́͜ ̨͜͝W͠͞h͏̀͝ą̀t ́̕t̡͟he ͞f̀u̴ç͟k͝?!” 

“You fucking- Tried to kill me! I think it’s fine if I punch you!”

Anti frowned, crossing his arms. “...Fa͡i҉r ͠p̴o҉int..͞ "̕

“...What.. What even happened?” 

The demon glanced down, avoiding eye contact. “Wȩlļ .. ͡Yoų.͝. ͠Fel͠l ͘i̡n͏t̷o a ͜c̸o͞ḿa.̷ Fǫr̨ ̛a͞ ͟year, and͢ ̧it's ͝a̢l͢l͠ m͘y̴ ͢f҉a͡uĺt ͠an̴d ̴I̴'m ͜sórr̢y͘-” He got cut off by a soft thud. Anti looked up, eyes widening when he saw Jack had laid back down, eyes shut. He was still breathing, at least. “J̧-Ja̷ck̢? J̢a͞c͞k ̛no͏- Fuc̶k ͠fuc҉k ҉fu͡ck̷. ̶D́o͢n't͢ fa͢ll̀ ̶bac͢k̵ ͢a͜sl͢ee͠p͜ .. ͞N͜o҉ n̨o pleąs͜e̵ ..” Anti grabbed his shoulders, shaking his unconscious form. 

“..̴.I̢ n̨ee̵d ̀you. ̷” He whispered, voice hoarse. 

The air settled, letting what the demon had just said sink in. Anti grimaced, shaking his head to try and get rid of the thought. 

Seeing as Jack wasn’t going to wake up that way, Anti tried to pull himself together, instead grabbing his phone out of his pocket and doing what he should’ve done in the first place. Call Henrik.

He held the phone up to his ear, trying to remain calm. “H-H̶enr̕i̸k..͘.? ͘ H͠ènr͟i̸k̸ ple͏a̕se͢ p͞ick̶ u͜ṕ.̀. ͞Pl͡e̢ąse ..” Anti absolutely loathe how vulnerable he sounded. The phone clicked as Henrik picked up the call. The doctor didn’t get a word out before Anti began to speak. “I-It'͏s̡ ̵J͟ac̨k.̨ He͜ ẁ̢̀̀oke ̷u̷p.̨ ̛H-H̀e ҉w͏a͘s aẁake҉ bu͘t͏ ͜he҉ ͏fel͞l͟ ̷b̴a̢c̡k a͟sl͘eep͟ a͢nḑ.̕.͠ţ ̕Ąnd̀ I͞ d҉oǹ'͠ţ k̴now ͟w͞h͞at̨ ̛I neęd̡ ͞to ̀do, ̛ pl̴e̕ase c͞om͢ȩ bac͠k ..” 

Henrik quickly mumbled a soft reassurance and said they’d be home soon before hanging up, leaving Anti alone with Jack and his thoughts. 

Looking Jack’s unconscious body over, Anti felt empty. Like there was a hole in his chest. 

He needed Jack. 

Anti wasn’t whole without him. 

As the realisation sank in, Anti only had one thing to say. 

“.͢.̸.̢Fucķ.̢”


	9. Impact and Intrigue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of a double upload cause this chapter is short as fuck boi

Jack and Jay McLoughlin were identical twins, similar in nearly every way. When the two were young, the only way to really tell them apart was their eyes. While Jack’s eyes were both a light shade of blue, while Jay’s were two different colours, one a light blue, the other a striking green.

Though, that didn’t stop people, teachers, friends and even their own parents mixing them up every now and again. The young boys didn’t mind. The two of them would sometimes pretend to be each other. It was a game to them, really. 

Growing up, the two of them spent everyday together, preferring to be by each other’s side. That all changed the day a boy with big fluffy hair, pointy fangs and freckles all over his cheeks had arrived in their preschool classroom. 

His name was Marvin. 

Jay and Jack had invited him to hang out. From then on, the three of them had really become inseparable. Spending everyday together. This lasted throughout the entirety of Preschool, Primary and Middle School. The first day of Tenth grade was went they had met Chase. Marvin’s hair had long since been dyed a bright green, making him stand out amongst their classmates, which prompted Chase to come over and introduce himself.

Chase had been smiling wide as he shook hands with the three of them. He had a girl on his arm, who had introduced herself as Stacey. She had a sparkle in her eyes of excitement and a mischievous grin on her lips. 

The group, having just gone from only three members to five, instantly bonded. 

Jack was happy. 

He was happy when Chase and Stacey had said they were a couple. 

He was happy when Jay had finally confessed to Marvin.

He was happy when the two of them had finally kissed for the first time. 

He was happy when they graduated. 

He was happy when Marvin performed his first Magic show. 

He was happy when Chase and Stacey had gotten engaged. 

He was happy when he finally met Chase’s good friend Henrik, after the medical student had moved to England. 

He was happy when Chase made him his best man as his and Stacey’s wedding. 

Jack was happy, not always, but most of the time back then. Everything had been good. Even with small bumps in the road. Everything seemed to come crashing down the night Marvin had ended up in hospital. 

He had been in that room, watching Marvin breathe heavily while he laid in bed, dressed in scrubs for a patient. His face had been wrapped in bandages. Jay had held Marvin’s hand, while sitting in a chair he had pulled up to his bed. No one in that room was speaking.

Stacey hadn’t been able to come, so Chase had spent that night crying into Henrik’s shoulder. Jack had sat on his own in the corner of the room, dead silent. Marvin’s breathing and the groups choked sobs filled the air. 

Marvin hadn’t been the same since that night. 

Neither had Jay. 

Once Marvin was allowed to leave, he’d begun wearing a mask. It was a cheap little thing that one of Chase’s kids had bought home from the craft store. Marvin had allowed the two kids to decorate it. 

The marker was sloppy, but he loved it nonetheless. He wore it everywhere, opting to just hide his face behind a colorful mask. 

Jay was more protective of Marvin, hesitant to even let him be alone. It put a strain on their relationship for a while. Which had pained Jack to even watch. 

Things had seemed to lighten up when Henrik had moved into Jack’s home. He was a welcomed presence. 

Everything had seemed like it was going to be okay. 

Until Stacey had filed for a divorce. 

Chase had moved in with them, opting to stay in his room for hours, even days. Henrik took on the role of taking care of him during everything.

She ended up taking the kids. 

Throughout all of this, Jack had continued to record his videos, uploading them twice a day. It was hard at times. But he managed. 

\--- 

Jack grinned, finishing off his videos outro with an energetic yell. Suddenly, he winced, going to rub at his right eye. “Jesus- Fuck. There’s something in my eye..” He mumbled to himself. 

The door to the recording room then slowly swung open, making Jack jump and turn around in his chair. He could’ve sworn it’d been locked. 

A high pitched giggle filled the room, ringing in Jack’s ears, making the Irishman look around in confusion and fear. 

“H̢͍̖͕͔e̸͏̛̝̝̳̗̲͓̪͓l̕͏̣̝͔̻̤͇͔̠l̶͔̪̪̯̰͉̰̫̳o̵̶͇̝͈͜,̙̹̞̬̲̩ ҉̧̞̗̜͎̬̦̖J̢͍̫̜̺͠a̛̪̦͕̬c̩͙̻̺͖͡k͚̩͔̯̻̱̫͙̬͜.̡͏̼̙̰̖͓̗͠~̨̻̦͓͓̟͚̻”


	10. Jackasses and Jazz

Jameson didn’t really know much, when it came to the grand scheme of things, though that was a given, especially when you looked at the way he was living his life. 

Right now, he was sitting on one of the couches in their living room, holding a mug of hot chocolate that Marvin had just given him. He didn’t know what time it was, or even what year it was. Marvin was sat upon the couch to Jameson’s left, snuggled up against his boyfriend’s chest. Robbie laid curled up like a kitten next to Jameson and Anti was relaxing on the couch to the dapper man’s right. The manor was warm and cozy, while decorated with green, red and white decorations. To the right of the TV stood a Christmas tree, the trunk of which was entirely hidden by a massive stack of messily wrapped presents. When he looked out the window, he saw what could only be described as a winter wonderland. 

“Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!” He heard Chase’s voice, prompting him to turn around. Jameson smiled when he saw Henrik and Chase walking hand in hand over to the group. 

“Are we ready to get started?” Someone else spoke up, prompting Jameson to look around. Much to his surprise, he saw Jack who had just stepped out of the recording room, locking the door behind him. He still had the bandages wrapped tightly around his neck, but he looked happy. 

“We̡ can g҉et ̧starte͠d ҉when̛ ͘y͠o͟u g͡ȩt͏ you͠r ͞ass͢ ͞o̵v͘er her͜e.͘ ̡” Anti called out, without even as much as glancing behind his shoulder. 

“Asshat.” Jack mumbled, though the smile didn’t leave his face. He made his way over to the couch, climbing over the back, before sitting down next to Anti. Without any hesitation the demon rested his head on Jack’s shoulder, snuggling into it.

Before Jameson could so much as speak, or comment on the strange behavior, the window burst open, letting in the snow and outside winds. Temporarily blinded, he stayed still, sighing a little when he lost the feeling of the warm couch. But the warmth of the room never left. 

When he opened his eyes, Jameson choked back a gasp at seeing himself standing in his childhood home. Everything was the same. From the dust covering the floorboards to the layout of the furniture.

Sitting at the living room couch, in front of a window with a book in hand was his mother. She looked so exhausted, but at peace. Jameson stood still, taking in the sight. He hadn’t seen her in years, months, days? He wasn’t sure. But seeing her again, so relaxed and comfortable was like a punch in the gut with nothing but dread. The record player was on, playing a slow jazz tune as his mother read. 

The record ended, prompting his mother to look up from her book. “Jameson, be a dear and flip the record around for me.” 

“Yes, mother.” He nodded, quickly approaching the player and lifting up its needle. Jameson carefully took the record, flipping it around before putting it back on and lowering the needle, watching it make contact with the record as a sweet tune filled the silence of their living room. 

“Come, sit with me.” She motioned him closer, by gently petting the couch cushion next to her. 

Jameson nodded, swallowing anxiously as he walked over. He sat down next to his mother, before taking his hat off, letting it rest in his lap as the dapper man leaned down, resting his head on her shoulder. She wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders, holding her son close as she continued to read. Jameson relaxed, taking in the comforting embrace as his eyes slipped shut, letting him fall asleep to the sweet tune coming from their family’s record player. He could’ve sworn he heard his mother whisper a soft ‘I love you’, right before he slipped into a deep sleep. 

Jameson was awakened by a loud cry of pain. He jolted up from where he laid on the living room couch, scrambling to his feet. Eyes widened with panic. He looked around, eventually spotting who had made the noise. 

Anti was laying on the ground, writhing in pain. Jackie was on top of him, pinning the demon down by his throat. Jackie looked angrier than Jameson had ever seen. 

“Stop-” 

Jameson called out, before his world turned to white. 

The soft beeping of a heart monitor filled the room, ringing in Jameson’s ears. Beep. Beep. Beep. He looked down at Jack, who laid unmoving in his bed, before glancing out the window, seeing the sun beginning to set. The atmosphere of the room was kind of peaceful. Jameson allowed himself a moment to relax, thinking back on what he’d just seen. He was a little bit confused. 

Very confused. 

What had prompted Jackie to attack Anti like that? Why was Anti sitting with Jack? Why did he see his mother? He bit down on his bottom lip, trying to process everything when the door opened and Henrik walked into the room. “Jameson? It’s time for dinner.” 

The dapper man smiled at Henrik, before walking over to him. The pair made their way to the dining room, before taking their seats. 

“You can start eating anytime now. You don’t need my permission.” Chase spoke up. The exhaustion in his voice made the dapper man glance at him with a look of pity. 

As Jameson began to eat, he looked at Anti, eyeing him up with interest. He’d seen so many interesting sides to him today. The dapper man had never seen Anti being pinned underneath someone and writhing and crying in agony. But he’d also never seen the demon be as touchy feely as he was with Jack, even with Robbie. The look on Anti’s face was one of boredom, though when he saw Jameson staring, his boredom shifted into a grin. Jameson quickly looked away, getting back to eating his own food. Though he couldn’t help but glance at the butterknife that Anti was twirling around his fingers. 

“H̸m?̶ W͝h҉at'͟s͟ wr͏o̕ng? An̴x̢ioưs? W͢o͡rri͡ed ҉t̶hat̡ ̢thi̷s̡ li͞l k̕n͢ife ͏wi͞ll ̶s̕li͘p an͢d͡ h̶u̡rt̢ someone?~” Jameson stayed silent, just continuing to eat. The food was tasty, he really needed to thank Chase for the meal, if he didn’t shift his current conscious place in the timeline before dinner was done. “No̵t very tal͘kat͘i͢ve҉, huh?” He teased. It was clear he was trying to get some sort of reaction out of the mute. Jameson rolled his eyes, just keeping them glued to the dish in front of him. That was when Anti decided to lift up the knife, chucking it as Jameson. The butterknife barely missed his face, landing against the wall and cluttering to the floor. Jameson’s eyes widened as he looked over at Anti. He wanted to speak up, but decided it wasn’t worth it, instead he began to sign, making words faster than anyone could comprehend.   
“Anti?! What the fuck?! He wasn’t doing anything!” Jackie spoke up, clearly pissed off.   
“Ex̸act͡l̵y͞! Tha͝t҉'s ҉t̴h̡e̡ fuc̨kinģ po͏i͜n͠t,̵ mist̴er sup͢e͞ŗhero.͠ ”   
“You could’ve hurt him!”   
“A͢in̨'̡t̡ ͝t͞hat ̷a͜ ̸l҉itt҉le ̡h̴ypoc͝r͏i̵tical͢ o̕f ҉y͏ou̴? Yo̧u beat ͏u͟p͏ peǫp̷le fo͞r a̢ ͢livin̨g͠. ҉”  
“Motherfucker… I help people!”   
The two bickered back and forth, until Anti sighed, lifting up his feet and resting them on the table, finally prompting Henrik to speak up. “Anti! Ztop that at v’once! It iz incredibly unhygienic.”

Marvin then spoke up, yelling over everyone, bringing them to an awkward silence. “Could all of you please just stop?! None of this used to happen when Jack was with us! So please just stop acting like children.”

The silence was nearly deafening. 

Until Jackie spoke up. “If it wasn’t because of that Bastard, Jack would still be with us!”

“F̷̝̩u͍͚͘͠c̛̰̬̯͕k̶̵҉̹̳̜̩͖ḛ̛̼̰̞̙̺̮r̢̠̟̹͔.͏̢̖̯̤̖̲͖ ̟̥D̡͜͏̮̙͕̹̥o͏̲͔̺̫͚̩n̴̡̮̠̼͖̩̼'͍͎͓͈͖̦͜t̷͈̲̺̪͈͍̙͖̝̕ ͈̮g̨͓̖̞̭̝̬͠o̹͎ ̡͍̱̙̲̝̙͍͘͝ṣ̴̟̣p̻͚͕͞͠o̡͈͙͍̣u̹͜t̛̫̠͙i̗̺͇̖̭̜̕n͜͞͏̯͔g͜͏̠̦̬ͅ ̡̤̼̮̮̪̗̮̮a̧̦̼̲̖̭͝l̸̺̺̼͢l̸̢͎̼͞ ̩͎͟͝t̢̙̦̝̲͓̜͈̫̝͟͠h̴̪̳a̷̛̱͈͖̰̲̗̞̟͜t̪͓̩̗̖̟̣͇͟ ̶̭̜̼̪̖͕͍c̸̸̤̪̺͎̫͍͢ͅr̺̲a̵͏̬̞p̡̟͇͖͙̠̰͞!̥͈̰̺͚͝”

“Fucking hell! I can’t believe the two of you!” Marvin cried out, clearly frustrated. The magician stood up, making his chair scrape against the floor. The noise made everyone, including Anti cringe. 

“Babe wait-” Jackie began to protest. 

“Don’t talk to me until you sort your shit out.” Marvin snapped back, before slamming the door shut behind him. The sound echoed as Jameson squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to leave. He always hated when the others fought. It was awful to watch. Which was why a wave of relief washed over him when Jameson opened his eyes, finding himself standing on the front porch, rain pissing down and thunder filling the sky. The door was opened behind him, and in front of him, slowly crawling up the porch steps was Robbie. The poor thing was covered in dirt and rain. He looked so scared. 

Jameson could hear the others whispering and having a somewhat panicked conversation in the background. 

He crouched down, helping Robbie up, before pulling the zombie into a tight hug, welcoming him. 

With a blink, the embrace and the rain filled night slipped away and Jameson found himself standing out in the manor’s backyard. It was late, most likely around the evening. 

Looking out at the grass, he saw a few picnic blankets laid out, along with plates covered in miscellaneous snacks. Everyone was there. Marvin and Jackie were laying together, hand in hand. Henrik was sat on a picnic blanket, watching Chase, who was running around the garden and laughing as he chased around two kids, who were grinning and giggling along. Robbie was out closer to the trees, a little away from the group. Anti and Jack were sat together. Nearly everyone was staring up at the sky, prompting Jameson to do the same. He was met with a purple sky, filled with stars twinkling faintly. Then the first firework launched, exploding in the air, filling the sky with a beautiful green. After that, more and more were launched and Jameson watched with a soft smile. 

It was truly beautiful. 

“They’re gorgeous, aren’t they?” 

Jameson nodded in agreement as his mother placed her hand on her shoulder. He leaned back, resting against her chest as they watched the fireworks through the large window of their living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hell yeah boi


End file.
